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Penelope Cruz confirms India film
By Saibal Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service

Cannes, May 25 (IANS) Penelope Cruz, riding a massive high following the rave notices at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Pedro Almodovar's evocative cross-generational drama "Volver", has confirmed that her India-centric film project will be off the blocks soon.

However, a director is not yet in place for the English language film backed by her own newly launched company, 88 Producciones. The film, based on a celebrated novel by Javier Moro, "Indian Passion", revolves around a real life turn-of-the-century flamenco dancer who falls in love with and marries an Indian maharaja. 

Cruz is slated to play the role of the dancer whose affair with the maharaja begins when he attends the wedding of the then Spanish King.

"Indian Passion" will be filmed in France, Spain and India later this year. 

"I think this facet of my life is going to be satisfactory," Cruz said of her decision to turn film producer. 

"I am stubborn. That might not be a great trait in other areas of life, but I think it will come in handy when I don the mantle of a producer."

Cruz's production company, named after the tattoo that she has on her right knee, has another major project in the works - a yet to be titled Spanish film to be directed by the Oscar-winning Fernando Trueba.

Cruz has worked with Trueba on the critically acclaimed "Belle Epoque" and, more recently, "The Girl of your Dreams". "Belle Epoque" won the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film of 1992. 
 

'Kabhi Alvida...' has German, French buyers: Karan Johar
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service

Mumbai, May 25 (IANS) Filmmaker Karan Johar has managed to sell "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" (KANK) to distributors from Germany, France and Poland at the 59th Cannes Film Festival.


Other 'non-traditional' international centres are also receptive to the eagerly awaited film.

"The thing about KANK is it follows my K3G ('Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'). And that's hugely popular as 'La Famille Indien' in France. Selling KANK is easier for me," Johar told IANS.

"Half the Bollywood industry was in Cannes. It was fun running into Ash (Aishwarya Rai), Rakeysh (Omprakash) Mehra, Suneel Darshan, Vishal Bhardwaj and others. It didn't feel like I was away from home."

Johar cannot get over the prevalence of Bollywood star power in that part of the world.

"The support that Shah Rukh Khan has in Europe is amazing. We discovered first-hand in Cannes how much Shah Rukh matters to the market out there.

"We had a blast over there. Preity (Zinta) and I saw talked about movies like 'The Da Vinci Code'. After that I was in London. I had a series of meetings lined up before I returned home."

Johar returns in time for his birthday Thursday.

"I want to spend it with my mother but no party because all my friends are out of the country. Shah Rukh is in Malaysia shooting."

And what was that embarrassing report about Johar and Preity being denied permission to enter a hotel in Cannes through the main door? 

"It was so stupid it doesn't even warrant a response. We were just asked to go through another door, which we did. A STAR News correspondent saw us and reported that we were denied entry. I guess such 'news' makes sense to some people. I'd rather focus on the release of my film."

Johar's nervousness about KANK shows.

"I feel KANK has already been released. That's how involved I am with the film. The trailer will be shown along with 'Fanaa' this week."

What about the book on KANK that was released in Cannes? "It was more like an elaborate catalogue, mainly pictorial."
 

Cannes: fashion show or film festival?  (COMMENTARY)
By Rajal Pitroda

Indian media coverage from Cannes positioned the event as more of a fashion show than a film festival. So how important is India at Cannes? And what does the international community care about - the clothes or the cinema? 

In the two weeks of the festival, the Indian media has written countless stories on the country's activities at this year's Cannes Film Festival held from May 17 to 28 in the French Riviera. 

However, much of the focus has been on Bollywood actresses and their choice of a Roberto Cavalli gown over a Ritu Kumar ensemble. Leading Indian media websites are asking readers to rate outfits, comparing Aishwarya Rai to Preity Zinta, and turning the red carpet into a full-fledged runway. 

The international press places an emphasis on cinema and commerce at Cannes. But for India, it is the opposite. And not without reason.

The Cannes Film Festival is an annual event that has come to highlight the best in cinema from around the world. The event has two main components - a competition section where films are evaluated by a chosen jury for the highest Cannes honour, and a market section where buyers and sellers congregate to view products and close deals.

India was first showcased, and awarded, at Cannes in 1956, with Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali". Several other Ray films were shown in the festival's competition or other official sections - "Parash Pather" in 1958, "Devi" in 1962, "Ghare Baire" in 1984 and "Ganashatru" in 1989. 

Additionally, between 1974 and 1986, five other Indian films - M.S. Sathyu's "Garam Hawa", Shyam Benegal's "Nishant", Mrinal Sen's "Ek Din Pratidin", "Kharij" and "Genesis" - all competed at Cannes. 

And in the late 1980's, two Indian features from first time directors - Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay" and Shaji N. Karun's "Piravi" - left their own marks at the festival. Since then, only Murali Nair has competed in and won a Cannes prize with his "Marana Simhasanam" in 1999. 

This is not to say that India was not represented at this year's festival.

Anirban Dutta was in the student competition with a short film, "Tetris". And Gitanjali Rao was in the Cannes Critics' Week with another short film, "Painted Rainbow". Dev Benegal was selected for the prestigious l'Atelier, a section at Cannes that helps selected filmmakers find co-production partners for their projects.

Guided by the Confederation of Indian Industry, the National Film Development Corporation and the ministry of information and broadcasting, India also set up an official India Pavilion in the International Village at Cannes. 

Promoting a network of independent Indian filmmakers under the one umbrella, the India Pavilion sought to effectively present Indian projects for financing and distribution to the world market. But once again, the world's largest film producing nation was noticeably missing from the competition section at Cannes. 

The lack of an Indian presence in the Cannes competition provides not a reason to criticise, but more an opportunity to examine the Indian market and its place in the global film community. How effective is India at Cannes? And what else can we do to cultivate a wider market for India - both at the festival and beyond?

The key issue for India is an understanding of its disparate markets - one Bollywood, the other not. 

Bollywood films are a staple in India - they are what local audiences want and watch. They are also in demand around the globe - in the Middle East and Africa, Indonesia and Japan. India's song and dance cinema does well in the developing world and will continue to do so.

Bollywood in the West, however, is more of a trend than a staple. As much as these films will pack theatres in New York and California, their audience is mainly the Indian diaspora - and in global terms, Bollywood does not translate into international commerce. 

Bollywood films will not be chosen for competition at Cannes or at most other festivals. They will not be picked up for international distribution by a major US studio or its independent specialty arm. Bollywood is not part of the international sensibility. However, it clearly commands a market and it should and will continue to strive. 

The other market is what is seen as "art" cinema in India - and this is the cinema that will succeed in other parts of the world. Films such as "Raincoat" or "Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi", if encouraged and promoted well, are the cinema that will provide India with ground on the global film map. 

It is filmmakers like Rituparno Ghosh and Sudhir Mishra, Shonali Bose and others who should be supported by India and the Indian film industry. These are the filmmakers, and their films, that will cultivate a market for India internationally and at Cannes.

And so why weren't there any Indian films at Cannes this past year? Or the years before? It is not a lack of talent or exposure or even financing. It is instead about strategy and education, and about quality. 

Indian filmmakers need to submit their films to festivals around the world - not just Cannes or even Venice or Berlin or Toronto. They need to represent at other festivals as they were this past year at Cannes - as a unified body that speaks to international tastes and sensibilities. 

They need leadership and representation, from within the industry and the government, which is constant and aware and is able to interact with the global film community. 

With a sustained presence at global festivals, no matter how big or small, not only will India get noticed but its own filmmakers will be exposed to cinema from around the world that has also cultivated its own global market. 

By educating buyers about Indian cinema and that beyond Bollywood, India will slowly begin to create some momentum. It will produce content at par with international work - and instead of fashion taking the foreground at Cannes, it will be films.

(Rajal Pitroda is a film marketing and distribution executive based in Los Angeles. She spent two years working with the Indian film industry as part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Mumbai. She can be reached at rpitroda@yahoo.com)
 

British film wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
By Saibal Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service

Cannes, May 29 (IANS) Veteran British director Ken Loach's sweeping drama about the Irish war of independence, "The Wind that Shakes the Barley", shook off a strong Hispanic offensive to bag the Palme d'Or at the closing ceremony of the 59th Cannes Film Festival Sunday night. 

This is Loach's first Palme d'Or after seven previous appearances in the Cannes Competition. 

"The Wind that Shakes the Barley" deals with a tumultuous period of history when, in the 1920s, the British government unleashed the ruthless Black and Tan squads to quell the fight for Irish independence.

Receiving the trophy from French actress Emmanuelle Beart, Loach said: "It is a great honour for us to be here for Cannes is the most wonderful cinema celebration in the world, it is the centre of cinema in the world, and the heart of cinema."

He went on to say: "We hope that our film represents a small step in the relationship which the British have with their imperialist past. If we dare to tell the truth about the past, perhaps we shall dare to tell the truth about the present."

The second and third place awards - the Grand Prize and the Jury Prize respectively - went to infinitely more unfancied entries -- Bruno Dumont's expose of the sheer desultoriness of war, "Flandres", and first-time British director Andrea Arnold's experimental "Red Road", about a woman who works as a CCTV operator watching over the world around her.

Arnold, who won the Oscar for the best short film last year for her "Wasp", was the only debutante competing for the Palme d'Or this year.

The top audience and critical favourites, Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Babel", both Spanish language films - one from Spain, the other from Mexico - had to be content with the minor prizes.

Inarritu won the best director award. In his acceptance speech, the Mexican director said: "This festival is heavy with meaning for me. My career essentially began here. I was lucky enough to win a prize each time: for 'Amores Perros' in the Critics' Week and now this." 

Almodovar's six-member ensemble female cast, headed by Carmen Maura and Penelope Cruz, won the best actress prize. 

In a similar vein, the jury presided over by Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai, handed out the best actor prize to the all-male cast of Rachid Bouchareb's "Indigenes", a tribute to the North African Muslim soldiers who fought to free France from the Nazis.

The Camera d'Or for the best debut-making director was snapped up by Romania's Corneliu Porumboiu for the film, "A Fost Sau N-A Fost?", which looks at effect - or, more precisely, the lack of it - of the political revolution that happened 16 years ago. 
 
'Rang De Basanti' wows Cannnes
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service

Mumbai, May 28 (IANS) It seems the encomium for Rakeysh Mehra's reformative drama will never end. At Cannes, Rakeysh was treated to yet another round of inquisitive raves about his film "Rang De Basanti" by a receptive and eager international press.

Says Rakeysh: "Rang De Basanti was in the marketing section. It got sold in a jiffy for a large number of countries. But what really gratified me was the way the film was received by the press at Cannes. Generally the international press gets restless after the first 10 or 15 minutes of a film's screening. This time they sat right through and had lengthy one-to-ones with me on the film. It's a different kind of critical response out there."

But Rakeysh wasn't entirely happy with the contingent of films screened at Cannes. 

"I saw a good Japanese film 'Midnight Sun' and an interesting animation film, 'Over The Edge'. After that I saw Pedro Almodovar's 'Volver' and I couldn't bring myself to watch any other film. The way the subject was treated and formatted just left me gawking," Rakeysh told IANS.

Though he spent an hour every day at the 'Indian Pavilion' at Cannes, he stayed away from the endless parties. 

"There was a party every night. But I was not interested in partying. I was there to soak in the ambience. And what I realised is that Cannes is a wonderful place to bring your film to be noticed. But it isn't a yardstick of excellence. I mean "The Da Vinci Code" was selected as the opening film for the festival. It was obviously because of its right recipe. It was glamorous, lavish and controversial."

Rakeysh isn't happy with the fact that no Indian film has entered the competitive section at Cannes for years. 

"But it can't be helped. No Indian filmmaker has the patience to hold on to a film until it's premiered at Cannes. There are too many extraneous circumstances threatening our films, pushing them into completion and then a quick release," he says.

"So the only way to put an Indian film into the competitive section at Cannes is to time its completion and release with the festival. And that's a ridiculous idea. So I guess we won't figure in the competitive sections of too many international festivals. Not that it matters. No one should make a film for a festival. At least I won't," he adds.
 

Spanish films sparkle at dull Cannes festival
DPA

Cannes, May 27 (DPA) The 2006 Cannes International Film Festival, which draws to a close on Sunday with the awards ceremony, began with a thunderous dud and did not improve much until its second week.

The much-anticipated world premiere of "The Da Vinci Code", which opened the festival on May 17, was more of a media event than a memorable film experience, and was almost universally scorned by the traditionally demanding mob of international critics who come to Cannes.

While Ron Howard's film version of Dan Brown's blockbuster novel shrugged off the bad reviews and was playing to packed theatres around the world, the Cannes festival took a little longer to recover.

The only true highlight of the festival's first week was Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's brilliant ghost story "Volver" (Returning), starring Penelope Cruz.

Volver is a magnificently filmed, brilliantly written tale about three generations of women and involves betrayal, murder, incest, the relationship between mothers and daughters - and a very lively ghost.

It was immediately pegged as the favourite to win the coveted Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for best film of the festival, and Cruz, in a sultry and deeply emotional performance, remains a hot contender to win the best actress award.

Not until the second week did the festival present a film and an actress that could rival the two. But "Babel", directed by Mexico's Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, provided Cannes with a much-needed dose of cinematic brilliance.

The film stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and a host of excellent actors from Japan, Morocco and Mexico and could be described as a human globalisation drama.

A complex tale of interrelated stories on three continents, "Babel" boasts a magnificent performance by Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi, playing a deaf-mute teenager frustrated by her inability to communicate with the people around.

It was hardly surprising that the two favourites for the Palme d'Or were made by filmmakers from Spanish-language countries, since five of the 20 films selected to vie for the top prize came from Spain and Latin America.

The festival's second week provided several pleasant surprises, such as Paolo Sorrentino's "A Family Friend", a black comedy about an ugly, unscrupulous, deeply cynical loan shark living with his sick, domineering mother.

Former Palme d'Or winner Nanni Moretti's mordant "The Caiman" scored points as a fierce attack on former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi that uses a touching domestic drama as foundation.

The festival's dark horse may very well be "Indigenes" (Days of Glory), by Franco-Algerian Rachid Bouchareb, which deserves a prize for being the most important film to screen here this year.

The tale of four North Africans who volunteer to leave their homelands to liberate France from Nazi occupation in World War II, "Indigenes" is certain to provoke a lively debate on the role of foreigners in French history and in French society today.

All three films feature strong performances by male actors.

In "The Caiman", Silvio Orlando is excellent as a down-on-his-luck movie producer desperately trying to save his career and his marriage, while in "The Family Friend" Giacomo Rizzo, as Geremia the "golden-hearted" usurer, manages to be both vulgar and vulnerable.

Sami Bouajila contributes an impressive performance to "Indigenes" as an ambitious Algerian corporal who protests against the discrimination his men suffer in the French army.

Another strong male performance was that of French actor Jean-Pierre Bacri, who portrays the venal, opportunistic mayor of a beach resort town in Nicole Garcia's otherwise humdrum "Charlie Says".

Two other films that may have impressed the Cannes jury, which this year is headed by Chinese director Wong Kar-Wai, are Ken Loach's poignant Irish rebellion film "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" and Andrea Arnold's stark first feature "Red Road".

American films were among the biggest disappointments of this year's Cannes festival, with Richard Kelly's eagerly awaited "Southland Tales" drawing most of the critics' displeasure.

Sofia Coppola's pop film biography "Marie Antoinette", starring Kirsten Dunst, was greeted by a loud chorus of boos during its first screening, though it was too lukewarm a film to merit any strong reaction.

And Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki's "Lights in the Dusk", a Chaplinesque story about loneliness, was too slight and suffered greatly through comparison with his marvellous "The Man Without a past", which won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2002.

But the nine-member jury often works in mysterious ways, and no Cannes film festival is complete without an awards decision that leaves critics speechless.

--DPA 

Indo-Asian News Service

Preity underscores Bollywood vs. Hollywood polarity (CANNES DIARY)
By Saibal Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service

Cannes, May 27 (IANS) For some in the Indian media contingent in Cannes this year, the most sought after personality was Preity Zinta, who wasn't officially part of the 59th Cannes Film Festival but was present at virtually every Indian bash in the first week of the event.

The presence of the chirpy Bollywood star, who made the trip under the aegis of Chopard, in this Riviera town triggered speculation that she might be offered the role of Sonia Gandhi in Jagmohan Mundhra's proposed biopic on the Congress leader. 

But Preity was the first to scoff at these rumours. In an animated conversation with Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj during a yacht party, she was overheard emphasising the fact that Bollywood was driven by relationships. Amritraj told her that back in Los Angeles it would be well nigh impossible to get a star to devote time to any event or film without a formal offer and sufficient notice. 

"In Bollywood, we aren't that hung up," Preity said. "When Yash uncle offers me a role, I say yes entirely on trust. I do read the screenplay but only to understand the role. It has no bearing on my final decision." 

Bollywood is Bollywood and Hollywood is Hollywood. Never the twain shall meet.

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Another Amritraj serve?

Former tennis pro Ashok Amritraj has, of course, been doing his best to bring the two largest movie industries of the world together for a long time. Although no formal announcement has been made, there is talk of the successful Hollywood producer spearheading the organisation of an annual globetrotting India Film Week. 

This year, reports suggest, the event will kick off in London before travelling to Berlin, Los Angeles, New Delhi and finally to Cannes for the 60th edition of the film festival. 

Given how busy he is, one wonders whether Amritraj would have the bandwidth available for an event of this magnitude. His LA-based company, Hyde Park Entertainment, receives over 1,000 scripts every year. "We shortlist no more than 20 for final consideration. Only three or four out of these actually get made," he says. 

It is understandable that there has been no formal word yet from the Amritraj camp although a section of the international press covering the Cannes Film Festival has already put out the India Film Week story. Whether it turns out to be like one of the "three or four projects" that Amritraj green lights each year and or ends up in the shredder, we will soon know.

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Casting coup

Having seen Japanese actor Koji Yakusho's brief but impressive role in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Babel", Indian director Bharatbala has made up his mind to cast the star in his upcoming samurai-kalaripayuttu period drama, "The 19th Step". 

The 50-year-old Yakusho is in Cannes as part of the large "Babel" entourage, providing the Chennai-based filmmaker the opportunity to offer him a role in the upcoming Indo-Japanese co-production. 

Yakusho, one of Japan's most admired actors, shot to international fame for his role in the smash hit, "Shall We Dance?" (1996). He was more recently seen as Nobu in the Oscar-winning "Memoirs of a Geisha". 

Incidentally, Inarritu decided to cast Yakusho in "Babel" for the very reason that Bharatbala has zeroed in on the gifted Japanese actor. In the Tokyo segment of the Mexican film that is in Competition in Cannes this year, Yakusho plays a father who cannot emotionally connect with his deaf-mute daughter. 

Says Inarritu: "That father appears in just a couple of scenes, but we had to find an actor who has so much presence and gravity that you remember him long after his scenes have passed." So watch out for Koji Yakusho. 

 
Milind Soman acts as journos' saviour at Cannes (CANNES DIARY)
By Saibal Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service

Cannes, May 23 (IANS) The Bollywood stars have melted away. Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta, Ajay Devgan and Viveik Oberoi have returned to their orbits after doing the rounds of the Croisette. So the Indian television journos covering the 59th Cannes Film Festival are at a bit of a loss. 

Without the desi stars and their sound bytes, their job has become a whole lot more difficult. It is Milind Soman who has, for whatever he is worth in the Cannes context, emerged as their saviour. 

The hunky model-turned-actor and his girlfriend and French-Chinese actress Lena Jam-Panoi flew into Cannes on Sunday to register their presence on the red carpet. 

Soman is one of the stars of Paris-based Indian filmmaker Pan Nalin's upcoming "Valley of Flowers" and Jam-Panoi happens to be the leading lady of the film. 

What else is happening on the Indian front in Cannes? The Goa chief secretary, J.P. Singh, and the director of the International Film Festival of India, Vishvajit Sahay, are here to formally announce the dates of the third edition of the event in Goa. 

Industrialist Bhupinder Kumar Modi of MCorp Global, too, is here. The bowler hat-sporting tycoon is expected to announce the revival of "Buddha", an international venture that is expected to cost several times more than any other film ever made in India. 

Clearly, there is still enough up ahead by way of hype for the Indian media contingent currently camping in Cannes.

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Chinese ire on 'Summer Palace'

One story doing the rounds in Cannes relates to the Chinese feature film in Competition, Lou Ye's "Summer Palace", a lively look at the nation's recent history, in the director's words, the Tiananmen years. 

It revolves around a village girl who goes to Beijing University and discovers sexual and personal freedom. The film has more sex and even more politics than any Chinese film has seen and the authorities in Beijing aren't pleased. 

"Summer Palace" has received mixed critical notices, but considering that the jury is headed this year by the Shanghai-born Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai, Ye's film is expected to be in the Palme d'Or reckoning. 

While "Summer Palace" was made with an official sanction, the film does not apparently have the official go-ahead to participate in an overseas festival. According to reports, the Chinese journalists covering the festival have been ordered by the government not to write about "Summer Palace". 

In protest, several of the 50-odd Chinese mediapersons in Cannes have returned to their country halfway through the festival. One doesn't yet know what fate awaits Ye and his film back in his home country. 

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Empty Iran pavilion

On the subject of protests, the Iran Pavilion in the Village International is bearing the brunt of a boycott by the nation's filmmakers. Having been blanked out of the official line-up, most top Iranian filmmakers have decided to stay away from the festival this year. 

So the official Iran Pavilion, in the second year of its existence, wears a completely deserted look. This boycott is, of course, only at the level of a few individuals. The pavilion is hosted by an Iran government body, which has gone ahead anyway so as not to upset the Cannes film festival organisers. 

Iran also has a largish stall in the Cannes Film Market, another sign that the Iran government has not washed its hands off the festival. 

The question we in India should ask: should Indian filmmakers, too, adopt the course of action that their Iranian counterparts have taken recourse to? 

One veteran Indian filmmaker attending the Cannes festival this year said: "It is all very fine to land up here in such large numbers. What we now need to bring here is a steady stream of high-quality films. Unless that happens, this festival will remain just another outing for most of us who are here." 

Indeed, numbers can never be a problem with us Indians - after all we are one of the two most populous nations in the world besides being the globe's largest producer of films - quality has always been an issue.