When actress Shabana Azmi read out a protest note in the presence of the then I&B Minister H. K. L. Bhagat at IFFI inauguration !
Some IFFI vignettes from the past
A.The recent happenings at IFFI bring back several memories of the time when Siri Fort in Delhi was the venue of the international film festival of India.
What comes the nearest to this hungama was Shabana Azmi reading out a protest note at the inaugural of the festival in the presence of then I and B Minister HKL Bhagat.
As the host Kabir Bedi invited her to speak about her cinematic preferences Shabana got on to the stage with a piece of paper to voice her protest against the murder of Safdar Hashmi on behalf of protesters who alleged that Congress had a hand in it.
There was cheering from the audience to this and much to his credit the Minister did not interrupt or disturb the proceedings.
B.And yes, before I forget let me mention that even before Amol Palekar’s walk with Rahul Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra Palekar had a walk with me in Delhi.
Not once but several times when there were two films at different venues Siri Fort and Upahaar cinema Amol Palekar would prefer to walk with us from one venue to another rather than take the official vehicle arranged by the Directorate of Film Festivals.
3.There was another interesting occasion when the media critics covering the festival literally gheraoed the Festival Director because they were unable to watch the much-hyped film ‘Maya Memsaab’ starring Shahrukh Khan.
Two screenings had been held but both times the theatre was full because of relatives of bureaucrats and politicians of Delhi.
The next day the festival director herself stood with the film critics to personally check the entry cards of visitors.
So much so that a former I and B Minister Vasant Sathe who came with his family was refused entry. He smiled and just went back without creating a scene.
4.On yet another occasion some films were being screened at the India Habitat Centre where Shabana Azmi and some other VIPs were watching a film seated behind me.
After the film was over an officer of the Directorate asked the audiences to leave the theatre before the next film.
Most left but some including me and Shabana who was one of the Jury members remained in their seats.
The next film was supposed to be a Pakistani film and there was a huge queue outside.The official got on the stage again and almost threatened that those who did not leave would be thrown out.
The tension was palpable and I could hear Shabana quietly chuckle to her friends ,”Ab ye pitega”.
Obviously the threat did not work and finally the official in a sheepish tone announced that those sitting inside could keep sitting because the VIPs which included Farooq Abdullah and a few Ministers had left the venue because they were not allowed in.
5.”Bandit Queen” made by Shekhar Kapoor was a huge hit on its time and I wanted to show it to my wife.
I went to Sidheshwar Dayal, late owner of the Regal cinema in Connaught Place and a great friend of journos who arranged two tickets for me.
It’s another matter that the moment we sat in the theatre Phoolan Devi (played by Seema Parihar) was heard shouting the typical curses popular in Kanpur and nearby areas and we were so embarrassed that we just wanted to walk out.
Today when we sit and watch the normal U Certificate films on OTT platforms with our family and teenage grandchildren we don’t even squirm in embarrassment.
We are proud to be among the top five economies of the world and obviously progress comes in a package.
6.The late night dinner after the festival mostly held at The Ashok was something we waited for even though reaching the place in cold winter nights on my mobile was a trauma.
But that was an occasion to meet stars and directors informally which we could not miss.
I remember once a certain actress a divorced and a mother of two walked hand in hand with a married actor at about midnight.
Even as photographers started clicking she shrugged her shoulders and walked out saying,”Kya yaar tum log chain se khana bhi nahi khane dete”.
We told her,”Madam if you walk hand in hand in a public place what are we supposed to do.”
But I remember distinctly when some bureaucrats wanted photographers to be banned from the dinner the Director
bluntly refused, saying,”They are our guests and we have this dinner once a year. Sorry we can’t refuse them entry.”
7.Before a screening at Chanakya the manager wanted to oblige me and asked if I would like a seat next to Shashi Kapoor who was also coming to watch it.
I politely refused telling him that I was coming to see the film not Shashi Kapoor. He must have been quite surprised because when he arrived with his wife Jennifer the usherers mostly working with the directorate were rushing to them for autographs.
Later of course when I met Shashi Kapoor for an interview we became great friends because he could not believe that there were film journalists who did not drink.
Strange but true!
