FAME can destroy a person's soul and a stage can provide a direct link between the performer and the divine – these are just two of the different engaging themes the film 'Autograph' carried in a beautiful way.
The music of the film, most of it based on Bengali poetry added taste to the environment, 'If they try to steal your poetry, your verses, I promise I will fight them on'.
It was dominated by Satyajit Ray's style as he composed western classical music for some of his films and combined it with the Bengali genre .
It closed a hugely successful run of films shown as part of the London Indian Film Festival which ended on Tuesday (July 12).
Indian independent cinema’s groundbreaking director Ketan Mehta’s 'Rang Rasiya' won the Audience Award at the 2nd London Indian Film Festival (June 30 – July 12). Audiences voted for their favorite films across 28 screenings during the festival.
Mehta:“I am thrilled that my passion project has won the coveted audience award at the London Indian Film Festival. The premiere in the historic surroundings of the Victoria & Albert museum was wonderful and the interaction with London audiences was great. This award is the icing on the cake.”
The Satyajit Ray Foundation’s Short Film Award for 2011 went to a film that the judges felt was a well crafted, beautifully observed and honest ‘day-in-the-life’ portrait of a poor but aspirational young boy – “Amar” by filmmaker Andrew Hinton.
Hinton said that he would share his £1,000 prize money with the boy. Jury member Menhaj Huda – director of 'Kidulthood' and 'Everywhere and Nowhere' presented the award.
Raghu Dixit, the outstanding performer who filled everyone with energy and exhuberance at the Glastonbury Music Festival enthralled the audience with his 'No man's ever gonna love you, like I do' and 'Gudugudiya'.
Later on, Nandana Sen shared her love for films and twist in her career. A Harvard University graduate, she said coming from an academic background made the world of films seem very dangerous. But everything was all the more exciting since it was unknown.
Working on the film 'Rang Rasiya' – screened earlier on during the festival was a very satisfying experience for her since the director allowed them to write their own dialogues for some parts, providing scope for imagination.
She said she loves writing and missed it while out on shoots for her films.
Cary Sawhney, the Director of the London Indian Film Festival said, he was satisfied with the way the festival had unfolded . They managed to create goodwill which he believes is invaluable and essential to move on the future.
The festival portrayed the new emerging Indian Cinema and not just the known 'Bollywood'.
Read more on the London Indian Film Festival in our next weeks' Eastern Eye issue (July 22)
