Ayushmann Khurrrana-starrer Andhadhun to open Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

Megha Ramaswamy’s The Odds , starring Abhay Deol and Priyanka Bose, will close the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) on 14 April.

The film is a coming-of-age story about two teenagers who skip school on important exam day and go on a fantastical journey through Mumbai. The film also stars Yashaswini Dayama and Monica Dogra.

Anand Patwardhan’s acclaimed documentary Vivek (Reason), which examines India’s slide away from secular democracy, will also be screened at IFFLA.

Vivek premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, won the grand jury prize at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, and recently had its US premiere at the True/False Film Festival.

Andhadhun is the opening film of the festival. The latest from thriller master Sriram Raghavan, won rave reviews and box office success upon its release last year in September. The film revolves around Tabu’s Simi, a desperate small time actor-turned trophy wife who is caught disposing of her husband’s body in front of a presumably blind pianist Akash ( Ayushmann Khurrana ).

The story follows Simi, Akash, and Akash’s suspicious girlfriend (played by Radhika Apte ) in a wicked story of ambition, romance and organ harvesting.

Tabu will also be honoured at the film festival. “We have discussed honoring Tabu for a long time, and this year felt like the right time,” said Christina Marouda, IFFLA’s Executive Director.

“Her work and personality embody everything that IFFLA is about - being fearless, versatile, independent in spirit, unwilling to compromise, brilliant in the range of her performances, and simply beautiful. With half of the festival’s 2019 line-up directed by female filmmakers, this couldn’t be a stronger celebration of women in Indian cinema,” Marouda said.

IFFLA will host a panel featuring successful South Asian professionals working across various fields in the television industry.

The lineup of the panel includes names such as actor/comedian Nik Dodani, director Meera Menon (The Walking Dead, GLOW, The Magicians), writer Fawzia Mirza, writer Chitra Sampath (Good Behavior, Southland), writer Roshan Sethi and actor Dhruv Uday Singh.

(With inputs from Press Trust of India)