LEH, June 27:
The third edition of Ladakh International Film Festival opened here with the screening of director Kamal Swaroop’s National award-winning movie ‘Rangbhoomi’, which is based on Dadasaheb Phalke’s eponymous semi-autobiographical play of the same name.
The three-day fest was inaugurated by His Eminence Drukpa Thuksey Rinpoche in presence of Bollywood filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, veteran actress Deepti Naval, actor Rajit Kapur and director Amol Gupte, who was accompanied by his actor son Partho and wife.
“Films had a very important role in my life. I left Ladakh at the age of two… When I cam back I did not know the Ladakhi language and culture. It was films that helped me. Films are important and should be watched,” Thuksey Rinpoche said at the inaugural event.
Noted lyricist Gulzar, who is the patron of the film festival and inaugurated the event last year, was conspicuous by his absence this time.
Mehra said Gulzar has promised him that next time he will come three days ahead of the festival.
The director, whose film ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ premiered at the festival last year, said he is glad to be back.
“I am very grateful to everyone present here. Even though this is a small festival, there are big hearts. I brought ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ here last year. I screened it in many countries but something felt right when the movie was premiered here,” the 50-year-old director said.
Melwyn Williams Chirayath, founder and festival director, said he was sad to see the poor turnout on the first day but hoped the situation will improve at the screening of ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ tonight.
Melwyn said that this time around there are fewer films as they focused on bringing quality titles.
Naval is set to pay tribute to her former co-star and close friend Farooq Sheikh, with whom she collaborated in films like ‘Saath Saath’, ‘Chashme Buddoor’ and ‘Katha’.
Korea is the focus country for the movie gala this year and contemporary Korean films will be brought alive on screens at the event. Several Korean dignitaries were present at the inauguration ceremony.
A total of 67 films will be screened during the festival this year, including Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Ugly’, which will have its Asian premiere here.
‘Ru-Ba-Ru’, a documentary encapsulating the impact of Mehra’s cult film ‘Rang De Basanti’, is the closing film of the festival.
The docu film is directed by PS Bharathi, who served as the editor of the ‘RDB’.
This year, the jury for the festival includes film critic Klaus Eder, general secretary of International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and Maxine Williamson, head of Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
Meanwhile, the screening of ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ has been postponed to Sunday at the Ladakh International Film Festival (LIFF) due to some technical glitch.
The screening, which was scheduled for today at the Druk White Lotus School, would have coincided with the film’s worldwide release.
The officials said that the projector had some problem as a result the screening had to be postponed.
“Projector is down hence the screening has been postponed to Sunday (June 29). A lot of factors caused the problem including the weather which is windy,” an official said.
‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ is a science-fiction action film based on the ‘Transformers’ franchise. It is the fourth installment of the live-action ‘Transformers’ film series and stars Mark Wahlberg in the lead role.
Now, filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s documentary ‘Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told’ will be screened at the same venue.
Produced by Shekar Kapur and UTV, the film talks about the strength of Indian Cinema. The documentary had its premiere in Cannes 2011.
“‘Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told’ will be played on DVD,” the official added. (PTI)
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