(L-R) Neetu Singh Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor on the red carpet. Photo credit: MichaelToolan.com
The 11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival kicked off in spectacular fashion on Wednesday night, May 4, with the Opening Night celebration which featured the U.S. Premiere of the Delhi-set comedy “Do Dooni Chaar,” Disney’s first live-action Hindi film. The star-studded red carpet premiere, held at Manhattan’s prestigious Paris Theater, was attended by special guests Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh Kapoor along with writer/director Habib Faisal. Also attending the premiere were Aparna Sen, Madhur Jaffrey, Aditya Bhattacharya, Ajay Naidu, Samrat Chakrabarti, Meetu Chilana, Rehana Mirza, Pulitzer Prize winner Siddhartha Mukherjee, Sarita Choudhury, Ami Sheth, Poorna Jagannathan, and many other actors and filmmakers whose films will play at NYIFF through Closing Night on Sunday, May 8, 2011.
(L-R) Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh Kapoor, director Habib Faisal, and NYIFF director Aseem Chhabra at the post-screening Q&A. Photo credit: MichaelToolan.com
Following the screening of “Do Dooni Chaar” was a discussion with Faisal and the Kapoors moderated by festival director Aseem Chhabra which had the audience laughing throughout. A gala benefit dinner followed at the opulent Jumeirah Essex House on Central Park South.
(standing L-R) IAAC Executive Director Aroon Shivdasani and NYIFF director Aseem Chhabra. (seated L-R) Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh Kapoor at the gala dinner. Photo credit: MichaelToolan.com
The 11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival, presented by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), is the oldest and most prestigious Indian film festival in the country. NYIFF runs from Wednesday, May 4 to Sunday, May 8 with 25 feature films including 15 World and U.S. Premieres, industry panels, photo exhibits, afterparties, and more. Tickets are available online at http://www.iaac.us/nyiff2011/
Manu Narayan, Samrat Chakrabarti, Manish Dayal, Sanjeev Jhaveri, Deepti Gupta, Carrie Anne James, Pallavi Sharda and Ami Sheth form the ensemble cast of Shailja Gupta’s debut feature film Walkaway, which opens on October 29, 2010 through Reliance Cinemas on 26 screens across 18 cities.
Ms. Gupta’s Indian roots and urban life as a young South Asian professional in New York City proved excellent fodder for Walkaway, which she wrote, directed and produced. After a successful career in New Media and Information Technology, Ms. Gupta pursued her passion for films, on the internationally acclaimed film Chokher Bali, which was an Indian National award winner in 2003, she served as global marketing manager, and worked as an assistant script supervisor for another Indian National award winner (2005) – Raincoat, starring the former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Walkaway mocks the clutches of social obligations on young Indian professionals settled in New York City. Exploring the subtleties of the Indian mega-institution of marriage, from the now-veiled urban dowry system to the overwhelming compromises demanded of a cross-cultural couple, the film weaves through the lives of four friends who struggle to balance engrained values with modern environs in the fast-paced melting-pot that is New York.
In this South-Asian male version of Sex and the City, Darius, Vinay, Shridhar and Soham – single, dating, engaged and married, strive to maintain some semblance of sanity while questioning themselves, their desires and choices, and the importance of unshakeable traditions. On a journey fraught with ethnic and generational differences, and the pressures of modern relationships and careers, what will they choose to walk away from – family, love, or their roots?
Ms. Gupta has fashioned her American indie with Bollywood flair and influences. Walkaway has garnered tremendous support from the Bollywood community, including renowned actor Shah Rukh Khan’s production house Red Chillies Entertainment, who assisted in the post-production, editing and VFX. “As a successful member of our Indian film industry, it is my pleasure to support up-and-coming filmmakers like Shailja,” said Mr. Khan. Academy Award winner (Sound Mixing for Slumdog Millionaire) Resul Pookutty provided the sound design and mixing for Walkaway. Mr. Pookutty said, “I was impressed by the director’s passion and energy, which has resulted in a fantastic product!”
As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden.
This year, selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space will become part of newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.
Lia Chang
