Engendered Presents I-View Film in NYC
Posted on August 25, 2009
Filed Under East meets West, Guest Columnist, MOVIES | 1 Comment
By E. Nina Rothe
Come this weekend, everyone who knows me also knows where to find me: At Lincoln Center, bum flatter for the wear and heart happier for the view, watching South Asian cinema at its best. That’s when the I-View Film festival organized by the Engendered organization for Human Rights takes over the Stanley Kaplan Penthouse, Walter Reade Theater, Asia Society — and even briefly Leela Lounge — for a full three-day weekend of films and fun. Did anyone say work? Unless you are like me — your work happens to be attending rocking events such as this festival — I suggest putting in for some ‘personal days’ on August 28th through the 30th. This festival is going to be just THAT good!
I am sure to be surrounded by some of the most celebrated names in modern Indian cinema. The list is way too long so if I miss someone, I am sorry but when names like John Abraham, Boman Irani, Farhan Akhtar, Tarun Mansukhani, Zoya Akhtar, Shyam Benegal and Mira Nair are thrown at me, I tend to lose my mind with joy! And some of my favorite companies and organizations are involved in bringing this wonderful ‘reunion’ of talent to the Big Apple, including maverick digital distributors Saavn, personal beloved TV station AVS-TV and the wonderful movie-promoting initiative FilmKaravan.
I recently asked the festival’s Executive Director Myna Mukherjee what the general message is this year and she said “Engendered uses art and culture as tools to raise awareness and change viewer perceptions around gender and sexuality which includes women’s issues, minority and health rights, and of course the LGBT community as part of a larger human rights framework. We wanted IVIEWFILM to showcase films that are a true reflection of the many different realities that we as South Asians span and the various ways in which gender and sexuality issues intersects our lives — because ultimately that is why cinema is so powerful — it lets us identify in moments with what is happening on the screen.”
When I inquired about the particular selection in this year’s edition of the festival, Myna’s words were “It was important for us to show films that were truly a diverse range — from blockbuster Bollywood hits to hard hitting independent cinema, from master directors to first film makers, from entertaining comedies to hard hitting documentaries etc. The festival features films from not just the Indian Subcontinent but from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and even Australia. The overall message of the festival is to reveal and provoke newer ways of seeing and understanding the changing landscape of South Asian genders and sexualities.”
The I-View Film festival opens on Friday, August 28th — at the Stanley Kaplan Penthouse in Lincoln Center — with a star-studded reception and plenary comprising of clips of the participating films and an open discussion with the filmmakers. The night is scheduled to end with music and dancing, including a performance by the talented and exotic Nadia Ali.
Fabulous films then take over the whole weekend, with a Saturday morning screening of ‘Dostana’ — attended by writer/director Tarun Mansukhani, lead actor John Abraham, as well as the fantastically funny Boman Irani — which is sure to be mobbed and loads of fun. Saturday afternoon is jam packed with entertainment, courtesy of a series of shorts exploring ‘Queer Sexuality and Identity’, followed by a screening of the groundbreaking ‘Lets Talk’ hosted by actor Boman Irani and director Ram Madhavi and then a film I have been waiting ages to view ‘Ode to Lata’, with a special appearance by writer Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla. Saturday night’s afterparty will be held at Leela Lounge, courtesy of Bibi Magazine.
Sunday morning will see more shorts, then Shyam Benegal‘s ‘Mandi’ accompanied by the director himself, followed by Mira Nair’s ‘My Own Country’ with Nair in attendance, ready to answer audience questions. The 
closing film of the festival is my personal favorite of 2009 ‘Luck By Chance’ and I can’t say enough about Zoya Akhtar‘s beautiful directorial debut, as well as Farhan Akhtar’s touching performance, as a man who would not be half as likable and understandable if played by any other actor! Even though I have seen the film several times by now, I will be right there in the audience on Sunday, cheering on this magnificent piece about the behind-the-scenes antics of the Indian film industry.
Artist and filmmaker Shailja Gupta joined the organization of the festival this year because of her connection with ‘Dostana’ director Tarun Mansukhani. The two worked together ten years ago in Bombay and remained friends. So, when the organizers of I-View knew they wanted to open the festival with 
‘Dostana’, she was instrumental in making that happen. “I just started with helping Myna [Mukherjee] in getting Tarun, then Boman Irani and Kirron Kher — who unfortunately had to pull out due to Flu concerns — and that then progressed into becoming festival coordinator” she stated humbly to me. I asked her why ‘Dostana’ and she replied “With the selections of films coming to the festival this year, the message is very much about how Bollywood is instrumental in influencing the minds of those so-called ‘conventional thinking people’, in India and well as here, you know those who don’t want to talk about these issues.
She continued “‘Dostana’ is clearly one of those films, even though some of the elite may not have liked the film because they claim it made fun of the gay lifestyle, I personally feel that even through comedy it has addressed issues which have influenced people in some way. Now the masses are aware in India that there is something called ‘homosexuality’ or ‘gay’ and that is a lifestyle. The most poignant part is that Tarun has shown the mother in the film — played by Kirron Kher — accepting her son’s choice, which turns out to be the main message of the story. Even in families, like mine, in India who would never talk about something like this, they saw ‘Dostana’ and they liked it. Now they know this exists and it’s there, even if there still will be no open discussion about it.”
Luck By Chance images courtesy of Excel Entertainment, Tarun Mansukhani photo courtesy of the filmmaker
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Thanks for shrinag. What a pleasure to read!