MAMI 2019 Day 1 and 2 highlights: Nivin Pauly, Sobhita Dhulipala's Moothon opens festival; Axone, The Wayfarers premiere

The Jio MAMI 21st Mumbai Film Festival kicked off with an opening ceremony on 17 October, which was attended by a host of Bollywood celebrities and members of the film industry. The opening film of the event, Moothon, was screened on 18 October.

Written and directed by Geetu Mohandas, the film revolves around a boy as he sets out to reunite with his elder brother.

Pradeep Menon of Firstpost wrote, "Moothon is a film that stands out for its visceral emotional tapestry interwoven with action-thriller elements. Like a life fraught with questions and travails, it is a ride that can get bumpy, but it is one you should go on, should you get the chance."

Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films

Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films premiered four short film, according to Asian Age. Sepia, starring Aparshakti Khurana,directed by Archit Kumar; Siblings by Sheetal Menon; Nawab directed by Mansi Jain and Adheen directed by Yash Verma. This was followed by a panel discussion, where the creators discussed the "art of storytelling".

Aparshakti Khurana at MAMI 2019

Kubra Sait at MAMI 2019

The Last Color

Chef and restaurateur Vikas Khanna's The Last Color was showcased on 18 October. The film deals with taboo surrounding widows in Vrindavan and Varanasi in India and stars Neena Gupta. Her portrayal also lead her to win the Best Actress award at Indian International Film Festival of Boston in September.

Siddhant Adlakha for Firstpost had previously written, "It’s a picturesque work, filled to the brim with meaning and heartwarming intent, though sadly, it also appears to be where Khanna finally meets his match — for the time being, at least."

Geetanjali Rao's animation feature Bombay Rose had its India premiere as well. Other films that were showcased on Day 1 include, Arati Kadav's space drama Cargo, Ad Astra, Babyteeth, The Lodge, The Two Popes, Little Joe and Eeb Allay Ooo!, among others.

Day 2

The Southern Invasion Redefining Regional panel discussion took place on 19 October. Filmmakers Vetrimaaran, Bejoy Nambiar, festival director Smriti Kiran and moderator Baradwaj Rangan discussed the intricacies of regional films and the challenges of bringing these narratives onscreen.

Baradwaj Rangan, Smriti Kiran, Vetrimaaran and Bejoy Nambiar. Image courtesy - MAMI 2019

Axone
Vinay Pathak, Sayani Gupta's film Axone, directed by Nicholas Kharkongor had its premiere.

The comedy is set in Delhi that exposes entrenched racism towards people from other parts of the country. The film explores cultural and social experiences in a big city, where Sayani plays a tenant from the North East who along with her roommate must outdo her judgmental landlord, played by Vinay, to cook her own local cusine and dishes without antagonising the neighbours.

MAMI and Netflix collaborate to celebrate women in films

Netflix India and the 21st Mumbai Film Festival came together to celebrate the evolving role of women in Indian storytelling as part of MAMI’s Women in Film initiative.

The Wayfarers

Adil Hussain's Raahgir (The Wayfarers) had its India premiere as well, which was attended by the film's cast and crew. The screening was followed by a QnA session.

The film tells a tale of human empathy in time of crisis and revolves around three characters and their relationship as they embark on a journey in search of livelihood.

Other celebrities spotted at the festival were Naseeruddin Shah, Konkona Sensharma, Seema Pahwa, Shabana Azmi and Ninad Kamat.

Konkona Sensharma. Image courtesy - MAMI 2019

Ninad Kamat. Image courtesy - MAMI 2019

Shabana Azmi. Image courtesy - MAMI 2019

Seema Pahwa and Naseeruddin Shah. Image courtesy - MAMI 2019