Day 3 at 5th Jagran film Festival: The show goes on

Films from an interesting mix of genres were screened on day three of the fifth edition of Jagran Film Festival 

It was variety that ruled on day three of the fifth edition of Jagran Film Festival (JFF). This also translated into a higher footfall and cinema lovers shuttled between the screens to catch a flurry of films from different genres.

Manoj Bajpai and (right) Hansal Mehta at JFF. Pics/Shadab Khan

The day kicked off with Sushant Singh Rajput and Parineeti Chopra-starrer Shuddh Desi Romance being screened in one screen while another showcased Chinese film, Takao Dancer.

Dharmendra and Nutan in Bimal Roy’s Bandini

In the afternoon, a huge crowd had gathered to attend a panel discussion on film casting; aspiring actors as well as young filmmakers dominated the audience. On the dais were director Sanjay Gadhvi, producer Anubhav Sinha, actor Arjan Bajwa, actress Priyanka Bose and casting director Atul Mongia. The interactive session that followed undoubtedly the most entertaining and it drew interesting questions from the audience.

Sushant Singh Rajpur and Parineeti Chopra in Shuddh Desi Romance

Later in the day, one saw screenings of films paying a tribute to legendary directors such as Patrice Chéreau and Bimal Roy. Chéreau’s Phedre (1968) and Roy’s Bandini (1963) saw many cine-lovers turn up. Upkar (1967), featuring Pran, was also showcased; it was aimed at paying homage to the veteran actor who passed away last year. Sekhar Das’s Bengali feature film Nayanchampar Dinratri too piqued the audience’s curiosity. Shoojit Sircar’s political espionage thriller, Madras Café, attracted many more people as did the social thriller Charfutiya Chhokre, that stars Soha Ali Khan.

A fair number of short films – all from different parts of the world – too were screened. A Portuguese film was shown first, followed by an English short film and the Hindi short film titled Kar Bhala. French director Jean-Julien Collette’s 24-minute film, Electric Indigo and Yogendra Saniyawala’s 23-minute Gujarati short film, Vyom’s Letter too saw film enthusiasts in attendance.

In the Coffee Table Conversations with Cinema section, actor Manoj Bajpai engaged in a tête-à-tête with National Award-winning director, Hansal Mehta. The day drew to a close with the screening of two French films, François Truffaut’s Jules and Jim (1962) and Serge Bozon’s La France.

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