NEW DELHI: Eminent film based on the country’s music legends will mark the 100th FD Zone screening. The films include Ravi Shankar which is based on the Bharat Ratna sitarist and is directed by Pramod Pati. Others include Amir Khan by SNS Sastry, and on Bhimsen Joshi directed by the eminent Gulzar. The screening will begin on 12 July at 4 pm.
All the three films are remarkably individualistic in style. Pramod Pati’s film carries his zany energy, while Sastry’s film is a sublime meditation of the arts of music and film-making. Gulzar’s film is a feature-length documentary which is a sensory delight.
FD Zone commenced two years earlier with a three-day festival of Mani Kaul’s films at the FD office in Mumbai. The programme of weekly screenings began on 14 July 2012 with SNS Sastry’s I am Twenty and Ashim Ahluwalia’s John and Jane.
Since then, films have been shown every Saturday from the archives of the division aimed at creating a dialogue on diverse film-making practices, with emphasis on the non-fiction genre.
The FD Zone screenings are free and open to all and even independent films have been screened along with films from the FD archives.
Filmmakers visiting Mumbai have shared their films, fellow filmmakers have curated programmes and the audience has supported and enthusiastically participated in creating this space. The programme has been running once a month in seven other cities – Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Madurai, Thrissur and Coimbatore, in partnership with local organisations.
The films on Ravi Shankar and Amir Khan were made in 1970, while the film on Joshi was made in 1992.
