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Mumbai
festival off to dignified start
By MSM Desai
The presence of mainstream cinemafolk lent a dash of glamour
to the third International Film Festival of Mumbai, which
took off to a glittering start at the packed Shanmukhananda
Hall on November 23. Among the highlights at the inaugural
were the selected dances from Savitri, presented by Hema Malini’s
troup, Shah Rukh Khan’s dance with mentor, veteran filmmaker
GP Sippy on whom the Mumbai Academy of Moving Images had bestowed
the lifetime achievement award, and versatile actor, Kamal
Haasan’s plea for festivals in every state.
Sippy was given a standing ovation as he was presented with
a shawl and an award at the hands of Shah Rukh Khan who asked
Kamal Haasan to do the honours even as chief minister Vilasrao
Deshmukh and deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal joined
the stars. Speeches were punctuated with emotions. Chief Minister
Vilasrao Deshmukh assured the Government’s support to
the festival and hoped it will be a regular event in Mumbai
every year. He supported Kamal Haasan’s suggestion that
the Mumbai film industry should not be dubbed as Bollywood,
as it amounted to a cheap imitation. “The Marathi and
Hindi film industries have produced great films and stalwarts
like Shantaram, GP Sippy, Yash Chopra and BR Chopra of whom
the country is proud of. We must have our own individuality
and not imitate Hollywood,” he said.
Deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal lauded the MAMI festival
authorities for making it such a big event, and assured them
of state funding. He also assured the film industry that his
governemnt would always extend protection to the film industry
in Mumbai from extortionists and help end piracy on cable.
Ramakrishna More, minister for cultural affairs, said the
government had sanctioned Rs 20 lakh for the festival. Since
the chief minister has said it should be made a regular grant,
the government would continue to support the event in future.
Going down memory lane, Shah Rukh Khan recalled how he was
selected by GP Sippy when he came from Delhi to enter films,
nine years ago. Though he had a mental picture of a stern
fat boss, he found Sippy to be warm and jovial. “While
waiting to be called, Sippy came up to me and ruffled my hair
saying it was rather like a bear’s fur. After his selection,
the vetaran invited Shah Rukh Khan to a party at home where
the first thing he asked Shah Rukh Khan to do was dance with
him. Sippy Saheb went on from tango to disco and matched me
step for step,” he said.
GP Sippy in his choked voice said that he was so overwhelmed
by the lifetime achievement award that he had no words to
express his feelings. However, he thanked the organisers for
giving him the award and hoped the festival all success.
Thanking MAMI for taking the lead in conducting festivals
in Mumbai, which he considered like his hometown. “I
feel honoured at attending such a big festival in Mumbai,
as I think am also part of Mumbai,” Sippy said.
Shyam Benegal, chairman of MAMI, said the festival was independently
organised and that it had grown from strength to strength,
starting off with 44 films to 88 films at the present fete.
Raveena Tandon compered the show by first speaking in Marathi
and then switching over to English and Hindi. The formal function
was followed by the screening of Ang Lee’s Crouching
Tiger.
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