The story so far -- East or West, IFFI won't change

The story so far -- East or West, IFFI won't change
KAVEREE BAMZAI

NEW DELHI, JAN 12: It can only happen at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The most wanted film of the festival, East is East, was screened at the smallest theatre, Siri Fort III, causing India's true blue international star Om Puri to wade through a mass of bodies crouched in the aisles to get to the stage. This was not the first time that he was accosted by an officious Directorate of Film Festivals official hostess who wanted to know whether Puri wanted her to send a car. Not that any of this stopped the immensely cheerful, bandgallah-clad Om Puri from wishing everyone a happy New Year and talking at length about his ``happy film''.

``From 90 prints in the first week to 227 prints currently. And it's still running,'' said Puri, talking about Damien O'Donnell's ``breakthrough'' film which was made for œ2.5 million and has already made œ9 million. One can imagine why. The film, which some overly sensitive critics have described as racist, doesn't demand anything from the audience, as Puri put it. ``It does have problems based on social realities, but it also says we will take care of them.''

The story focuses on how Zahir/George (Puri) comes to terms with the fact that his children all seven of them may be half-Pakistani, but they live in England, their mum is English, and so they have every right to choose their way of life. This may involve being a gay hairdresser or it may involve slipping out at night to dance with Stella, she of the Enoch Powell-loving, Pak-bashing grandfather.

But what couldn't have been very easy for Puri, who runs his own chip shop in the movie, is the India-bashing he has to do. ``Those bloody Indians'', ``those bastard Indians who want Azad Kashmir'', ``haramzade Hindustanis and woh Indira Gandhi'': this is a recurring refrain in the movie. It doesn't help that the year Ayub Khan-Din's screenplay is set in is 1971, when India and Pakistan were at war. Between his youngest son Sajid's circumcision, his daughter swinging from Pakeezah, peeing contests and shots from Chaudhvin ka Chand, the film manages to capture a very human story movingly, with humour. But remember, one does need a sense of humour to appreciate this film.

THE IRANIAN SOLUTION: The day also belonged to Abbas Kiarostami, whose film The Wind Will Carry Us was almost murdered with bad programming by festival authorities. The man who won Best Director at Cannes three years ago was in better form at the press conference, where he amazed the desultory group of journalists present with the matter-of-factness with which he spoke about the restrictions in Iranian cinema: no touching, no kissing and little violence.

``That is why you find so many filmmakers making movies on children,'' he said, not seeming too bothered by the limitations. ``At least, after the Revolution, we don't have to worry about money,'' he said. And even as fellow member of the Asian Competition jury, Jean-Claude Carriere, spoke about a robot that may soon get Best Actress award at Cannes (and the movie will also be watched by computers), Kiarostami said how Iranian filmmakers had found a solution to the censorship by keeping their cinema simple.

Chairman of the jury, Mrinal Sen, was in particularly fine fettle, talking about how even bad films were being made intelligently now. ``When I heard Arun Jaitley talking about how cinema has the potential to be the biggest money-earner in India, I felt sad,'' he said. ``I don't consider myself a trader.''

THE WAYS OF THE DFF: But it wouldn't hurt if the Directorate of Film Festivals became a little more businesslike. Apart from balking at photocopying publicity material for the filmmakers who have come for the festival, they seem to be of little aid. Domenco Albonette, the producer of Once We Were Strangers, the opening film of the India and International Screens segment, was floating around waiting for some help.

He has already sold the film which is about two immigrants, one Italian, one Indian, and how they cope with life in New York in 40 countries and hopes to do the same here. Both Albonette and director Emanuelle Crialese are from film school in New York.