Jio MAMI 20th Mumbai Film Festival Day 6: Darren Aronofsky's masterclass, Amos Gitai’s A Tramway In Jerusalem

Darren Aronofsky could do no wrong in that room.

We are in the midst of the second last day of Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival at Liberty Cinema in Marine Lines. The 1,100-seater art-deco theatre that was built in 1949 was bursting in the seams as people continued to pour in to hear the director of Requiem For A Dream speak; it’s the only chance to get into his head and understand why his films enrich and terrify at the same time, as festival director Anupama Chopra pointed out right at the start of the conversation. “…the climax of Requiem…, the sound of a baby’s neck breaking in m__other! (his last release in 2017), a wrestler stapling his body…If we opened your head, what would we find?”

“Nothing very different from what would happen if we opened your skull,” Aronofsky replied as the audience guffawed.

His quick mind combined with a laidback bad-boy charm and a wicked sense of humour had the audience eat out of his palms. While his films are what they are, Aronofsky doesn’t come across as a person who takes himself too seriously. He did have ways to explain why he did what he did in certain scenes in Requiem… and The Wrestler, but when prodded about the baby eating scene in Mother, he said, tongue firmly in cheek, “There’s no symbolism in that. I just did it to f*** with the audience.”

This is the director’s sixth trip to India. And he’s already hooked into chai and ayurvedic medicine, both of which he sat with at the session. “Ayurvedic medicine is everything for Westerners.” Someone in the audience asked him if he believes in God. To which his counter-question was, “What do you mean by God?” The director revealed that just the previous day he met with a swami here with whom he had a long discussion about God and atheism. And no, he doesn’t believe in God. “But I do love Ganesh,” he said, although what he actually said was “ganache”. But, while on the topic of God, he couldn’t have been referring to icing.

Aronofsky’s films are known to have strongly divided and often confusing opinions. Critics love to hate him and the director appears to strangely enjoy that. mother! has been touted the worst film of 2017, Chopra pointed out, while about to ask a question. But, Aronofsky interrupted, correcting her. “No, they said it’s the worst film of the century.”

“Well, I wish I could make fully beloved experiences, but that’s just not what I’m attracted to. From the time I was very young, I have been interested in alternative culture.” And he’s probably one filmmaker who has heard the most number of nos in his career, right from his debut film Pi to his most noted works like Requiem and Black Swan. “They didn’t even call to say no to Requiem… And Black Swan was hard too. Horror fans don’t like ballet and ballet fans don’t like horror.” Clearly, it’s not easy being Darren Aronofsky. “To wake up every single day and fight for something you believe in, you really better believe in it,” he said.

Among the celebrities that flocked to hear him talk were Ali Fazal and Ishaan Khattar. I guess a landmark moment in Khattar’s life will forever be when Aronofsky said to him, “Nice hat!” They were both wearing berets. The director also seemed stumped when Khattar asked him about his favourite close-up scene. After several ‘I-don’t’-knows’, he settled on a scene from Requiem… The session saw a standing ovation both at the start and in the end. As people started slowly filing out of the theatre, they couldn’t stop gushing over and quoting from what they just heard. A pumped up Ali Fazal was even heard telling a friend about wanting to make his first short film before the year ends.

Meanwhile, far away from the heady mood in the evening, was a quiet morning I spent at a relatively less crowded Le Reve in Bandra watching Amos Gitai’s A Tramway In Jerusalem. And it wouldn’t feel complete without talking about it. The film is shot on a tramway that connects East and West Jerusalem and thus serves as a stage for small sketches to unfold from the lives of passengers as they ride the tram through the day. It’s a patchwork of different cultures, religions and ethnicities that we see, sometimes in a comic vein, and sometimes serious. The film is shot beautifully and is also an editor’s masterpiece. The soundtrack completes its pitch perfect quality. This maybe one of the quieter films at Jio MAMI this year, but I’m glad I found this gem that got buried in the maze of festival favourites.

(This is a round-up of the major highlights, fly-on-the-wall conversations, and our top picks of events & films from Jio MAMI 20th Mumbai Film Festival.)