Necessary to make place for different films: Kiran Rao

Apr 3, 2017 IANS

Mumbai: Filmmaker Kiran Rao says there's a need to promote films with differentiated content.

As chairperson of Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), Kiran is doing her bit through the MAMI Film Club, which has a year round calendar as part of which film screenings happen every now and then, apart from hosting of talks and workshops.

The idea is to bring the movies to film lovers before they have an official theatrical release in the country.

On Friday, the India premiere of Shubhashish Bhutiani's acclaimed film "Mukti Bhawan" took place.

At the red carpet, Kiran said: "We are very happy that MAMI Film Club got an opportunity to premiere this film because it is very necessary to promote and release new and different kind of content-driven films and make place for them.

"MAMI, which was founded 18 years back, was made to encourage cinema. MAMI Film Club is following the same vision by presenting films which are new and unusual."

"Mukti Bhawan" had its world premiere at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. It is the story of a reluctant son who must take his father to the holy city of Varanasi, where his father believes he will breathe his last and attain salvation. In the city, the two check into Mukti Bhawan, a hotel that is dedicated to people who are all waiting to die. The only stipulation is that they do so in 15 days or check out.

About the film, Kiran said: "When we heard that this film was selected fort Venice Film Festival, we were excited to see this film. In fact, we were eager to premiere this film at MAMI film fest, but the makers decided to premiere it at Venice Film Festival and they chose MAMI as a platform to premiere their film in India."

The film had received a standing ovation after its screening in Venice.

Starring Adil Hussain, Lalit Behl, Geetanjali Kulkarni and Palomi Ghosh, the film will release on April 7.