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Anand Gandhi's 'Ship of Theseus' has won the best film award at the 12th Transylvania International Film Festival That ended on Saturday. Although, independent films from India are garnering much Favourable response in the festival circuit, not all are as fortunate as Gandhi's film, que have found a presenter in Kiran Rao.
Patang
Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, this film based in the city of Ahmedabad During The annual kite-flying festival, received tremendous critical acclaim abroad and toured festivals in Israel, Italy, Canada and Sweden other than the prestigious Tribeca and Berlin film festivals. Legendary critic Roger Ebert called the film, "hypnotically beautiful" while terming Director Prashant Bhargava "a masterful filmmaker." Ebert went on to include the film in his own festival, Ebertfest. Despite The accolades, there is no word on the film's Indian release
Lovely Miss
AshimAhluwalia's film Which was INITIALLY planned as a documentary on the C-grade cinema of Mumbai, but later converted into a fiction owe owing to people's refusal to speak on camera, was selected in the 'Un Certain Regard' section of the Cannes film festival last year . However, the film features Nawazu-ddinSiddiqui Which in a pivotal role is yet to find a distributor in India. "We have just got clearance from the censor board. Approached We have a few studios, hopefully the film will release in the Latter half of this year," said a source close to the film.
Peddlers
Vasan Bala's film on four impoverished 20 year olds who find Themselves entrapped in the seedy world of narcotics, was a part of the International Critics Week in 2012, a parallel section at the Cannes film festival. The film was acquired by Eros International, but seeing it as a 'not-so-lucrative' proposition, the studio did not release the film. Later, the makers were in talks with independent hand PVR's Director's Rare, but nothing came out of it. The reason? Says the director, "It's a difficult film to market. We want to reach the right audience. We can not spend much on publicity." The makers have plans to release the film online.
Mumbai Cha Raja
Manjeet Singh's debut feature traces a chaotic time in the life of its protagonist Rahul in the backdrop of the annual Ganpati festival. The film made it to the official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival, but found no takers in Mumbai. In the words of TIFF's artistic director Cameron Bailey, "Manjeet Singh captures the reality, the drama, the complexity and the beauty of life in a Mumbai slum." When Mirror spoke to the manager, I Seemed To Have lost hope of an India release.
Shahid
Hansal Mehta's film based on the life of slain human rights activist and lawyer, Shahid Azmi had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012, and later won the Silver Gateway Award at the Mumbai Film Festival last year. Only now, the film has been acquired by a major studio, and if things turn out well, it will be Commercially released. Mehta says, "I was enjoying the festival run. In two weeks' time, the studio will make an announcement on Shahid's Indian release. I hope the average Remains supportive."
Which Films have secured a release
BA Pass
Ajay Bahl's human drama on sexual relationship Between a college-going boy and a married woman, played by Shilpa Shukla-will be distributed by Bharat Shah's banner. The film releases on June 21.
Ship of Theseus
Director Anand Gandhi's exploratory journey Which tries to deconstruct the notion of identity, justice and the meaning of life through the lens of a blind photographer has been acquired by UTV, thanks to the Efforts of Kiran Rao. The film releases on July 19.
