By Utpal Borpujari / New Delhi
The 23rd edition of Busan International Film Festival, Asia’s premier film showcase, will have nine feature films and one documentary film from India, including six which will have their world premieres there.
Devashish Makhija’s Manoj Bajpayee-starrer “Bhonsle”, Dar Gai-directed “Namdev Bhau”, Praveen Morchhale’s “Widow of Silence”, Hardik Mehta’s “Kaamyab” and Sanjoy Nag’s “Yours Truly” are the five features that will premiere in the festival that will be held from October 4 to 13. Supriyo Sen’s documentary “Swimming Through the Darkness” on blind swimmer Kanai Lal Chakraborty will also have its world premiere at the festival.
The other Indian films to be screened at the festival are “Tumbbad” by Rahi Anil Barve and Adesh Prasad, which had its world premiere at the ongoing Venice Film Festival, Raj Kumar Hirani’s Sanjay Dutt biopic “Sanju”, Rima Das’ “Bulbul Can Sing” and Nandita Das’ “Manto”. Rima Das’ film will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival starting later this week while “Manto” got its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Dar Gai’s “Namdev Bhau In Search of Silence”, produced by Dheer Momaya and starring non-professional actor Namdev Gurav in the lead role, is an interesting film about a person who flees from the noisy Mumbai in search of an elusive Valley of Silence.
“Bhonsle”, in which Bajpayee plays a terminally-ill cop who fights one last battle in a politically-disturbed Mumbai, has, meanwhile, been nominated for the “Kim Jiseok Award” in the A Window on Asian Cinema section.
“The avant-garde Korean films have been one of my major cinematic inspirations. To have my films premiere in Korea then is like coming home. The audiences at Busan last year welcomed ‘Ajji’ as if it had been made by one of their own. I am hoping for a similar reception for ‘Bhonsle’,” director Makhija said in a statement.
[23rd Busan International Film Festival Released Its Official Poster]https://t.co/HEwscyvT9m
[제23회 부산국제영화제 공식포스터 공개]https://t.co/5yEXziMV5p pic.twitter.com/H1pY7Pr7SA— 부산국제영화제 BIFF (@busanfilmfest) August 30, 2018