NEW DELHI: Indian film maker Manu Kumaran, whose Bombay Boys had opened markets for alternative cinema in India, went on to produce American film “Yellow” written and directed by Nick Cassavetes, which opened to rave reviews and audience appreciation at the recently-concluded Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

While Screen Daily declared it as “a film destined for cult status”, Piers Handling, the director of TIFF, described the film as "a wild, out-there, visually liberated feat of imagination." Described as, "Officially the most refreshing breath of air at this year’s TIFF,‘‘ by Indie Wire (http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tiff-review-nick-cassavetes-yellow-is-daring-bold-and-just-what-the-doctor-ordered-20120910), Yellow premiered in the Special Presentation segment of the festival which also featured films from makers such as Paul Thomas Anderson, Brian De Palma and Spike Lee, among others.

Starring Heather Wahlquist, Sienna Miller, Melaine Griffith, Ray Liota, and Gena Rowlands, Yellow is a searing take on modern society and the demands it makes on people. The film is woman centric and tells the story of Mary Holmes, (Heather Wahlquist), a young substitute teacher who escapes from her drudging everyday life by fantasizing bizarre parallel realities. We enter her hallucinatory world, peopled with Busby Berkeley dancers, Cirque du Soleil, Circus freaks, and human farm animals where nothing is quite what it seems.

All three public screenings of Yellow were sold out at the festival. "Even the press and industry screening was sold out. This speaks volumes about strong word of mouth Yellow is generating among the audience. The reviews so far have been very good but what was more exciting to see was the response of the audience," said Kumaran who belongs to the world of advertising.