IFFI’s Indian Panorama line-up announced; Saand Ki Aankh, Asuran, Chhichhore to be screened

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday announced that 20 non-feature and 23 feature films, including Saand Ki Aankh and Sushant Singh Rajput’s Chhichhore, will be screened as part of the Indian Panaroma section at the 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The nine-day film gala, which was previously scheduled to take place in Goa from November 20-28, got postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will now be held from 16 to 24 January. “Happy to announce the selection of 23 feature and 20 non-feature films in Indian Panorama of 51st IFFI. @MIB_India” Javadekar said on Twitter. Saand Ki Aankh, directed by Tushar Hiranandani and featuring Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar, will be the opening movie for the Panorama section at the festival, which will also see the screenings of Vetri Maaran’s Asuran, Nila Madhab Panda’s Oriya language movie Kalira Atita and Govind Nihalani’s Up, Up & Up. The list of films, selected by a jury headed by filmmaker-writer John Mathew Matthan, also includes Bridge (Assamese), Avijatrik (Bengali), Pinki Elli? (Kannada), Trance (Malayalam), and Prawaas (Marathi). Nitesh Tiwari’s Chhichhore, starring Rajput, who died in June this year, has been included as part of three mainstream films, which also consists of Asuran and Malayalam movie Kappela. The movies were selected by an internal committee of Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) based on the recommendations of Film Federation of India (FFI) and Producer’s Guild. The non-feature jury was headed by acclaimed feature and documentary filmmaker Haobam Paban Kumar. The jury selected Ankit Kothari’s Paanchika, a Gujarati language movie, as the opening non-feature film of Indian Panorama 2020. A total of 20 titles, including 100 Years Of Chrysotom - A Biographical Film, Ahimsa- Gandhi: The Power Of The Powerless, Justice Delayed But Delivered, Still Alive and Investing Life, will be showcased under the section.