MUMBAI: In the midst of, 100 years of celebration of Indian cinema, here comes news that will be remembered for a long time. The 38th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will see not one but two Bollywood films making its mark on the International platform.
Director Ritesh Batra’s ‘The Lunchbox’ has already made a wave at the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival. The film has received claps from audiences and critics. It is headed to make way to Indian theatres, thanks to Karan Johar and UTV joining force. The Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddique, Nimrit Kaur wouldn’t have seen the light of day if it had not been for Karan Johar and Siddharth Roy Kapur’s smart thinking. Just like the recent ‘Ship Of Theseus’ which was presented by Kiran Rao.
The second film however brings in a huge surprise. It’s Maneesh Sharma’s ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’ starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra and newbie Vaani Kapoor. The film will have its gala premiere (India-Canadian Premiere) at the festival. The trailers of the film and its first song have been creating all hype and hoopla, but this news just makes things bigger for ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’.
At the previous edition, Gauri Shinde’s ‘English Vinglish’ had its premiere. At the same time Deepa Mehta also premiered her ‘Midnight’s Children’. While ‘English Vinglish’ was purely Indian in its subject, the latter had a story from India to boast of.
But with ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’ and ‘The Lunchbox’ gearing up to head to Toronto, looks like Bollywood is truly going global with its themes and unconventional subjects. As long as Indian cinema continues to win praises for its content, there is always a reason to smile for.
Toronto International Film Festival will take place from 5 September to 15 September. How well are these films received; only audiences are the best judges. For now let the champagne flow! It’s celebration time for Indian cinema.
