ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT AND ENTERTAINMENT!

Bollywood has come to town and this winter will be abuzz with events, celebrities, guests, screenings and master-classes for Indian film lovers in Melbourne. The cinematic feast of diversity has many sumptuous offers for cine-goers. From June 11-22, the festival will showcase over 40 films from art-house to mass entertainment, animation to new wave mainly from the Indian subcontinent along with a selection of especially curated films from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The piece de resistance will be the presence of stunning former Miss World and Bollywood Star Priyanka Chopra and fab abs Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor for the opening night on June 11. Affectionately known as the Young Commander, Tamil

Superstar Vijay will also be present before the screening of Nanban (Tamil remake of 3 Idiots) on June 12. Other festival guests include India’s respected Bengali filmmaker Rituparno Gosh, award- winning writer/director Kunal Kohli and acclaimed producer /director Vicky Bahri. Interactive master classes will be conducted by filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani and screenwriter Abhijat Joshi, the successful duo behind India’s largest grossing films Munnabhai and 3 Idiots

Indian designer Sabyasach Mukherjee will hold a master class themed around ‘Talking Through Fabrics’ while award-winning director Jugal Hansraj will share his knowledge and understanding of opportunities through animation. The master classes are designed to create dialogue between Indian and Victorian film practitioners.

A panel discussion on coproduction possibilities between Australia and India will be explored and contributions will be sought to realize this mutual cinematic connection.

The popular Western Union Short Film Competition will be held again to unearth new filmmakers and help them to realize their dreams. The theme of this year’s competition will be ‘Connections’. A panel of judges including Rajkumar Hirani, Mick Molloy, Kabir Khan and Kunal Kohli will select the winning entries from India, Australia and New Zealand. The winning films will also find exposure during the Festival.

Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick

Lange has been successfully bringing Bollywood to Melbourne since the first Indian Film Festival held in April 2009. As a director of Mind Blowing Films that currently distributes Indian film and theatrical releases in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, Mitu Bhowmick Lange lives, loves and dreams Indian films. Her passion is shared with the hard working team at Mind Blowing Films. Together they assiduously prepare for this major event by encouraging creativity and diversity.

The Premier of Victoria Ted Baillieu announced Mind Blowing Films as the successful tenderer for the presentation of the Festival this year. “The Victorian Government is committed to strengthening ties between Victoria and India as well as developing a greater mutual understanding of our respective screen industries”, Mr. Baillieu said at the Press Conference held at the Investment Centre on Collins Street.

Indian Film Festival 2012 brand ambassador actress Vidya Balan and Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick both invited Melbournians to celebrate the films and film makers of the world’s biggest cinema industry, right in the heart of Melbourne. “This festival has always believed that cinema (like that other Indian obsession, cricket) can bridge the gap between different cultures and last year several magic moments only cemented that belief,” said Mitu.

“This year again there is something for everyone!” she added.