Vidya: Golden age for Indian cinema
As the Cannes film festival prepares to join in the celebrations for Indian cinema’s 100th birthday, one of the biggest names in modern-day Bollywood says the industry is enjoying a new golden age.
Vidya Balan, the star of Bollywood hits such The Dirty Picture, will be among the jurors deciding this year’s feature film award in Cannes as the traditional movie industry doffs its hat to its younger Indian cousins.
The 35-year-old Balan is herself a symbol of the changing face of Indian film-making, having garnered a reputation as a risk-taking heroine in an industry where leading roles have traditionally been the preserve of men.
“We are going through a wonderful time in Indian cinema,” Balan said in an exclusive interview ahead of her departure to the French Riviera. “We are celebrating versatility in every way — content, treatment, presentation, and all of it is unapologetically Indian.” Balan is one of two Indian actresses who have been invited as a juror, with actress and director Nandita Das returning to Cannes as a part of the Cinefondation jury after a debut stint in 1995.
The festival will feature a gala screening of Bombay Talkies, a four-part feature by four contemporary Indian directors — Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar.
And there will also be screenings of Amit Kumar’s Monsoon Shootout, Ritesh Batra’s Lunch Box, Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly and Manjeet Singh’s Chenu.
— AFP
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