MAMI: Who won? Who knows and who cares

By Vivek Kar / Sanskriti Media & Entertainment

The 13th Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI) is over, and over the seven days it held screenings of the various selected films from all across the world, there were mixed reactions to both the organisation and the films showcased.

The festival opened on a sour note with many people accusing the organisers of putting up a clunky opening ceremony. People like Kabir Bedi openly criticised the festival on a social networking site, saying the organisation was below par and exhibited poor management. In fact, Kabir left the inauguration function in a huff and blamed the organisers for putting up a shoddy show. Shyam Benegal, who heads the festival, was absent on the opening day and was not seen until the third day. Nana Patekar didn’t turn up on the second day despite the festival’s publicity which said he was slated to attend the festival.

This is not to say everything was bad. The opening day screened a Hollywood biggie, the Brad Pitt-starrer Moneyball. During the first day, people were able to interact with some good filmmakers and distributors. Then 15, 16 and 17 October saw the likes of filmmakers such as Kiran Rao, Anurag Kashyap, Sudhir Mishra and Rohan Sippy attend the festival and even participate in seminars and discussions, raising pertinent issues dealing with filmmaking. The media too was out in full force, and for a change, they were taken good care of as well.

The downside for many aspiring filmmakers and film buffs was the absence of renowned filmmakers. Only veterans who are part of the MAMI like Yash Chopra, Ramesh Sippy and Shyam Benegal were available throughout the days of the festival. The worst thing most people experienced during the MAMI was the show delays; all shows were delayed by more than 40 minutes each, which really frustrated the audience, especially visitors from abroad.

By the closing day, the festival organisation slipped back into the shoddy space one had seen during the opening of the festival. The film, Dolphin Tale, was screened followed by the award ceremony and success party. However, the closing ceremony was far from successful. The ceremony was hosted by Eesha Koppikhar who was ill-prepared at her job. The script she was following was badly written, there were several technical glitches, goof-ups and the overall organisation was bad. The worst part was that hardly any filmmakers turned up to receive the awards. The after party was nothing to write home about either.

While the festival did manage to create a buzz of sorts, buoyed by the hype of the high-profile films it screened such as Moneyball and the Ides of March, the overall reaction to the festival has been a mixed bag. Who won at the festival? Who knows and no one cared either.

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