MAMI 2019 Day 4 highlights: Kabir Khan speaks at panel discussion; Bitter Chestnut, Kaifinama screened

The fourth day of Jio MAMI 21st Mumbai Film Festival began with the screening of Oliver Laxe’s Fire Will Come (originally O Que Arde). The film had previously been showcased at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. Following the screening was a QnA session with the director, moderated by film critic Baradwaj Rangan. Laxe revealed that the film is inspired by his personal history and the “magnanimity of nature.”

A film is an experience more than an end - From making films, finding oneself & being true to what you find, we covered so many emotions & yet so much was left open to interpretation, just like in the film, Fire Will Come. Thanks #OliverLaxe! #JioMAMIwithStar2019 @baradwajrangan pic.twitter.com/ymWCQs81uH

— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 21, 2019

Fire Will Come stars Amador Arias, Benedicta Sánchez and Elena Mar Fernández in pivotal roles. Bitter Chestnut Directed by Gurvinder Singh, Bitter Chestnut (Khanaur) had its premiere at the recent Busan International Film Festival as well as MAMI 2019. The National Award-winner’s earlier feature films such as Anhe Ghode Da Daan and Chauthi Koot have also been widely acclaimed across the global film festival circuit. Unlike those two films, which are based on Punjabi literature, the story of Khanaur is inspired by the filmmaker’s own life. The film is made in Pahari, Hindi and English and features Kishan Katwal, who actually works in the cafe run by the filmmaker in Bir.

You may have written the script, but that doesn’t make it your story. #GurvinderSingh’s Bitter Chestnut saw his non-actors reject parts of the script because it felt inauthentic to them, resulting in a finely balanced story that felt real throughout. #JioMAMIwithStar2019 pic.twitter.com/nP2GZN84Lx

— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 21, 2019

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#GurvinderSingh’s Bitter Chestnut had an unconventional start.
Normally, people write scripts first, followed by casting, etc. But here, the cast & location were fixed beforehand - and a script was created to bring their story to life. #JioMAMIwithStar2019 pic.twitter.com/BXBDVJ9Jjv

— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 21, 2019

“The film is set in a place called Bir in Himachal. I moved there four years ago and happened to run a small café there. There was a 17-year-old boy, Kishen, who was from a remote village about 50 kilometres away. I could just see the contrast between where I lived and the village he came from. There was this sense of abundance in terms of nature, food and everything, but still there was no satisfaction with quality of living. There is a strong sense of attachment to the community, yet they want to go out and explore life because aspirations have changed in today’’s world. On the other hand, people like me, who can afford to give up living in the city, go there seduced by nature and an organic way of life. The film is about this contrast,” said Singh, reports Indo-Asian News Service (IANS). Kaifinama Sumantra Ghosal’s Kaifinama is an ode to renowned poet and writer Kaifi Azmi. The QnA discussion that followed the screening was attended by the director and Shabana Azmi.

Kaifinama Q&A with @AzmiShabana and Sumantra Ghosal #JioMAMIwithStar2019 @baradwajrangan pic.twitter.com/dsVXWstnm6

— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 21, 2019

Kaamyaab The film, starring Sanjay Mishra and Deepak Dobriyal, had its premiere at the Busan International Film Festival. Kaamyaab revolves around a seasoned character actor, who comes out of retirement. National Award-winning Hardik Mehta has helmed the drama. He will next direct Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor in RoohiAfza.

The film was autobiographical and came from a lot of experiences of the director. But he knew he had a strong subject when both the producer, @ManMundra, and #AvtarGill okayed the film in one go. #Kaamyaab #JioMAMIwithStar2019 @DrishyamFilms #HardikMehta pic.twitter.com/Y7ssfdKqrc

— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 21, 2019

You can travel all over the world, but nothing like screening at a home festival - #HardikMehta, Director, #Kaamyaab pic.twitter.com/jWeQuWO4H2

— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 21, 2019

“I have grown up watching a lot of old Hindi movies of the eighties and the nineties. Some of them were trashy but even those films offered us much to learn. My film is actually a tribute to the mainstream movies that we have grown up watching,” said Mehta about his film, according to IANS. Kabir Khan and Tahira Kashyap joined Anupama Chopra at Cinema as an Agent for Change panel discussion

I was a documentary filmmaker but I felt I was talking to the converted - @kabirkhankk speaking at the Cinema Agent For Change session, on the decision to make mainstream cinema. #JioMAMIwithStar2019 #KabirKhan pic.twitter.com/jm0k5iJxkx

— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 21, 2019

“I feel really sad when sometimes films with really wrong messaging get critical acclaim and a lot of audience support. I feel terrible about it. I can’t do anything except let my own films give a contrary point,” said the filmmaker. According to Press Trust of India, Khan said nobody has the right to decide which film should or shouldn’t be made but ultimately the responsibility lies with the director. (With inputs from agencies)