Cannes pays midnight tribute to Bollywood

A documentary celebrating one hundred years of Indian film has been screened at Cannes.

Shekhar Kapur project Bollywood: The World's Greatest Love Story was given a midnight screening at the film festival, AFP reports.

"The audience should see why over a billion people are having a love affair with this kind of cinema," said the Elizabeth filmmaker.

"It's been quite a delicate process to do this, including clips from almost 100 films from black-and-white to today's cinema," added Kapur, who appeared as a jury member at last year's festival.

Festival director Thierry Frémaux advised the audience: "You can dance during the film if you want."

The 81-minute documentary traced the history of Bollywood from the first feature film Raja Harishchandra to the industry's current position as a globally-watched product.

Indian actors including Minissha Lamba, Mallika Sherawat, Sonam Kapoor and Freida Pinto are attending the 2011 festival.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made her tenth appearance at the festival on its opening night.

Indian filmmakers to be promoted in Cannes

The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will promote six Indian filmmakers at this year's Cannes International Film Festival, scheduled to be held from May 11 to 22, as apart of a range of activities designed to increse collabroation between Indian and overseas film industries

The six filmmakers include Anurag Kashyap (Dev D Gulal), Dibakar Banarjee (Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Love Sex Aur Dokha), Anusha Rizvi (Peepli Live), Laximikant Shetgaonkar (Paltadacho Munis), Sekhar Kammula (Ananad, Happy Days) and Haobam Paban Kumar (AFSPA 1958), the Entertinment Network of Goa said in a release here today.

The filmmakers will be introduced through a series of meetings and networking events at the India Pavilion in the international village. The events include networking sessions with France’s CNC, Telefilm Canada, the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) and Israeli delegates.

The CNC will give a presentation on the new co-production treaty between France and India, while Binger film lab will also co-host a panel on how to co-produce with India.

In addition, trailers and information kits about the selected directors work will be presented in the India Pavilion, the release added.

Cannes festival to celebrate Bollywood

The prestigious Cannes Film Festival will celebrate the success and wonder of Bollywood in its 64th edition beginning next month.

'Bollywood, The greatest love story ever told', a feature film produced by Shekhar Kapoor and UTV Motion Pictures exclusively for the Festival de Cannes, will be screened during the festival that runs from May 11 to May 22. The film will be shown out of competition.

The film is directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and American documentary filmmaker Jeff Zimbalist. Mehra had written and directed the 2006 Bollywood blockbuster 'Rang de Basanti'.

According to Cannes festival authorities, the origin of 'Bollywood, The greatest love story ever told', could be traced back to a conversation with Shekhar Kapoor, a member of the Cannes jury in 2010.

The question then was: Why not make a film that brings together the most beautiful moments in the history of Indian musical films, with all their moving pageantry and dance? "A few months later, there was 'Bollywood, The greatest love story ever told', a Cannes festival release said today while announcing the selection of the film.

The 81-minute film is said to be a swirling and poignant montage in which Shekhar Kapoor, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Jeff Zimbalist pay tribute to this cinema genre that has contributed to establishing India's identity in the eyes of the world and to making Mumbai one of the world capitals of film history.