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The filmmaker who is also a jazz musician
By Saibal Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service

Panaji, Nov 29 (IANS) French filmmaker Alain Corneau, who is on the jury of the 36th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), is a man who loves his music and knows precisely how to use it in cinema. He is after all a jazz musician. 

It is not surprising that his name appears as the creator of one of the finest films ever made about music, "Tous les Matins du Monde" ("All The Mornings Of The World"), which was screened at an edition of IFFI in the early 1990s. 

It is probably his love for music that also frequently draws him to India, where he shot "Nocturne Indien" in the late 1980s. 

Corneau's latest film, "Words Of Blue", is being screened in the Cinema of the World section at IFFI. 

Has he been able to catch up with any Indian films? 

"Well, I have seen 'Iqbal' and quite liked it," he says. 

Coming from a Frenchman who isn't familiar with the sport of cricket, that's quite a pat on the back of director Nagesh Kukunoor.

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Hrishikesh Mukherjee as god

Talking of Nagesh Kukunoor, he is using his stay in Goa as the director of "Iqbal" to watch as many Hrishikesh Mukherjee films as he can. 

Suggest to him that he is one of the greatest fans that the veteran Mumbai filmmaker has probably ever had, he counters without batting an eyelid: "I am not just a fan. He is god to me. I worship him." 

Nagesh must be a proud man today: the serpentine queues that formed outside the multiplex theatre screening "Iqbal" on Monday afternoon rivalled the one that Mukherjee's "Anand" drew on the opening day of the special tribute that is being paid to his work. 

He has clearly learnt a trick or two from the master, a man who always had his finger on the pulse of discerning moviegoers. 

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A woman of substance

Actress Sarika has old, reliable friends in the Mumbai film industry and landing roles shouldn't be too much of a problem for her. 

But any old role won't do for her. "I want to good films," she says. "It doesn't matter if it's a mainstream Bollywood film or an obscure, low budget, experimental effort." 

On her comeback trail, Sarika has already had one release - Ruchi Narain's "Kal - Yesterday And Tomorrow". Her second film, Rahul Dholakia's "Parzania", is awaiting the attention of distributors. 

"It is not important who is making the film. What is important is whether the film is what the director believes in. When I find a film and director like that, I will go out of my way to grab the role," she says. 

The lady sure knows her mind. No wonder she is making waves despite being in films that cannot by any stretch of the imagination be described as high profile.

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An IFFI affair

NRI film producer Bipin Patel, who runs a New Jersey-based entertainment company called Akshar Media, is happy with the way his film "Hangman" has been received at IFFI. 

But he has reasons to grumble about the way the festival is managed. "The festival website wasn't up until a week before the start of the event. That's quite ridiculous. How can one organise an international film festival without a properly updated website?" he asks.

If only the IFFI organisers knew how powerful the web could be, the festival would have drawn a larger number of international films and participants, says the showbiz entrepreneur. 

But worse awaited Patel when he landed in Goa. "It took the festival office 24 hours to give me my delegate pass," he complains, pointing out that in the Toronto Film Festival the same process takes no more than two minutes. 

Mr. Patel, aren't you aware that we live in a different 'time zone'?