An Actor’s Actor-Sanjeev Kumar: The Authorised Biography of Sanjeev Kumar A riveting black and white picture of the late actor, in mid-close, looking a little to his right, greets you on the cover of this eminently readable biography of the actor, who, arguably, was an actor’s actor. And so, the authors, Mumbai-based Hanif Zaveri and Delhi-based Sumant Batra, are not exaggerating when they give him that exalted title. As far as the ‘authorised’ bit is concerned, the du...

RIFF, 08, 2022, 12: A talk show on Raj Kapoor-The Master at Work On Tuesday, the fifth day of the Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF) 2022, a talk show was held on the topic "Cinema and Books - A Boundless Relationship". The basis of the discussion was the book "Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work", written by Rahul Rawail, who worked as assistant director to the late genius for several years. Since then he has carved a niche for himself as a director of great merit, b...

IFFI 52, 042: The awards, BRICS by BRICS South African Film Barakat by Director Amy Jephta and Russian Film The Sun Above Me Never Sets, by director Lyubov Borisova, has shared the Best film Award, in the sixth edition BRICS Film Festival. For the first time, the BRICS Film Festival was held alongside the 52nd International Film Festival of India in Goa.  The awards were given to these films for their brilliant cinematic portrayal of human emotions and magnificent storytelling on screen...

IFFI 52, 030: BRICS film festival held alongside IFFI “We are all from different cultures, different backgrounds and different thought processes; coming together on the same page to pick out a best film for this competition unanimously is quite an achievement”, said Rahul Rawail, noted Indian film director, editor and Jury Chairperson of the BRICS Film Festival, at a press conference at the 52nd International Film Festival today in Goa. For the first time, the BRICS Film Festival...

IFFI 50: Ceremonial closing As the sun set over the river Mandovi in Goa, on the 28th of November, 2019, the 50th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) rolled out the red carpet for the closing ceremony. The spectacular, star studded closing ceremony brought the nine day festivities of 200 odd screenings, master classes, in-conversation sessions, and more, to a fitting climax. Gracing the valedictory ceremony, Babul Supriyo, Union Minister of State for Environment, Fores...

Diorama encouraged by Rahul Rawail, Shaji Karun The first Diorama International Film Festival (DIFF) will be held from the 14th to the 20th of January, 2019, at the Siri Fort Auditoria, New Delhi. Here’s how and why the organisers came up with this uncommon name: The word "diorama" originated in 1823 as a type of picture-viewing device, from the French, in 1822. The word literally means "through that which is seen", from the Greek di- "through" + orama &q...

IFFI Goa 2017, XV: UnSeen Durga and the Nude that nobody saw Among the many controversies and shake-ups that IFFI Goa 2107, one concerns the exclusion of two Indian films from the Indian Panorama. S*** Durga (name altered under instructions from the Central Board of Film Certification) and Nude. Durga was made by a Keralite director in Kerala while Nude is a Marathi film. The former uses Durga only as an allegory and there is no reference to the deity, while the latter is a docu-feature on th...