Moscow International Film Festival

Programmes


Indian Panorama

Billa // BIlla
India, 2007, 130 min.

Director: Vishnuvardhan
Cast: Ajith Kumar, Nayantara, Prabhu Ganesan, Namitha, Rahman, Santhanam

Most-wanted gangster named David Billa, hiding and operating out of Malaysia, on the top of Interpol’s criminal list. Detective Jayprakash has spent a huge chunk of the last few years looking for the elusive Billa. He has left a life behind in India, only to base himself in Malaysia and strategize the capture of the man who has 50 high-profile crime cases slapped against him. The Malaysian team wants to break the back of the operations of the Underworld Dons. During a chase with the police Billa is seriously wounded after an accident and dies in front of the Jayprakash. He then secretly holds a burying of Billa. Nobody except him knows of Billa’s death. Jayprakash keep the death of Billa as a secret even from his fellow officers, and tracks down a look-alike called Saravana Velu, a lowly pick-pocket. He asks Velu to infiltrate Billa’s gang by pretending to be Billa.

Like Stars on Earth // Taare Zameen Par
India, 2007, 163 min.

Cast: Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary, Tanay Cheda, Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma

Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colors, fish, dogs and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks and neatness. Ishaan just cannot seem to get anything right in class. And so, he gets into far more trouble than his parents can handle, and is packed off to a boarding school to ‘be disciplined’. Things are no different at his new school, and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family. One day a new Art Teacher bursts onto the scene, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, who infects the students with joy and optimism. He breaks all the rules of ‘how things are done’ by asking them to think, dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan. Nikumbh soon realizes that Ishaan is not happy being at school, and sets out to discover why. With time, patience and care, he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself.

Fashion // Fashion
India, 2008, 167 min.

Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Cast: Mugdha Godse, Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Arbaaz Khan, Raj Babbar, Kiran Juneja

Set against the glittering backdrop of the glamorous but ruthless world of haute couture fashion, this is the story of a small town girl with big dreams. Meghna always knew she was meant to be famous, but she was about to find out the hard way that success came at a price. Fashion is the tale of what happens when the price of success becomes too much to pay.

Roots // Yarwng
India, 2008, 95 min.

Director: Joseph Pulinthanath sdb
Cast: Sushil Debbarma, Meena Debbarma, Nirmal Jamatia

After the building a new dam twin rivers Raima and Saima overflew to their banks and submerged the village Bolombsa. The North – East Indian local people Yarwng, who have leaved here for thousands years had to move to another location and change their way of life. Karmati and Wikarai were to be married but, on the night before, the dam submerged the village and separate them forever. Time goes by and Karmati now married with Sukurai but still can’t forget her first love.

Kanchivaram // Kanchivaram
India, 2007, 117 min.

Director: Priyadarshan
Cast: Prakash Raj, Shreya Reddy, Sreekumar

Vengadam, a humble, charming silk weaver living in Kanchivaram, a town in Tamil Nadu known for its fine silk saris. In the late forties, India faced the convulsive change of independence, but Vengadam lives within the same rigid social structure endured by his ancestors. He works weaving expensive saris from the rarest silks, but could never afford the gorgeous garments he produces. And so he dreams: by the time his baby daughter grows up, he will have woven a sari for her wedding day. To do this he will need patience. Every day he steals single threads of brightly coloured silk from his workplace, smuggling them home for the project that will define his life.

Four Chapters // Chaturanga
India, 2008, 125 min.

Director: Suman Mukhopadhyay
Cast: Riturpana Sengupta, Subrat Dutt, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Joy Sengupta, Trina Nileena Banerjee

Set in colonial Bengal at the turn of the twentieth century, film is based on the book by Rabindranath Tagore, and tells the story of Sachish, who abandons positivism in favor of religious mysticism. Inspired by his rationalist uncle, Sachish is at first optimistic about reforming a society full of religious bigotry and superstition. But after his uncle’s death, Sachish tries to find solace in the very world he had so far fought against. He joins a religious cult headed by a guru called Lilananda Swani. The presence of two women further complicate his life: Damini, a young widow, and Nanibala, the abandoned mistress of Sachish’s brother. Nanibala needs to be «rescued»; Damini is given away despite her love for Sachish. Love triangle thus becomes, after a point, a psychodrama of unbelievable cruelty. Set in Colonial Bengal at the turn of the twentieth century, the film weaves a rich tapestry of crisscrossing desires and moralities.