Bollywood quickens pulse at Marrakesh film festival

<div class="section1"><div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="77.7%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><script language="javascript" src="Config?Configid=43376741"></script><br /><a href="javascript:popUp(&quot1;photopop?msid=126111&type=0&quot1;)"> <img border="0" align="left" src="/cms.dll/thumb?height=159&width=159&photoID=126111" hspace="12"" /></a></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Click to enlarge picture</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">MUMBAI: Bollywood, which has already been making a splash in big Western festivals like Cannes and Berlin, is now quickening pulses at festivals that are more intimate, but also include A-list films and stars.Take, for instance, the Marrakesh film festival (October 3-8) in the desert-swept north west of Africa. In an international festival of 73 films, there''s a special package of Bollywood films as well as stars in attendance.<br /><br />The Indian invitees include actors Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, Tabu, Shashi Kapoor, Irrfan, Sharmila Tagore, Soumitra Chatterjee and Pankaj Kapur, as well as directors such as Vishal Bharadwaj, Goutam Ghose, Shaad Ali and Chandan Arora. Shashi Kapoor is on the international jury, while Amitabh Bachchan received an honorary prize at the opening ceremony in the El Badii Palace last week. This is the third edition of the festival, held under the auspices of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.<br /><br />In an innovative coup, Nadine Tarbouriech who programmed the Indian films, is presenting Carte Blanche, a selection of Amitabh Bachchan''s favourite films__Satyajit Ray''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Jalsaghar</span>, Guru Dutt''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kaagaz ke Phool</span>, Govind Nihalani''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Ardh Satya </span>and Ram Gopal Varma''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Satya</span>. The other Indian films being screened are Vishal Bharadwaj''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Maqbool </span>(featuring Tabu, Irrfan and Pankaj Kapur), Chandan Arora''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon</span>, Ram Gopal Varma''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Bhoot</span>, Shaad Ali''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saathiya </span>and Sanjay Leela Bhansali''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam</span>. Goutam Ghose''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Abar Aranyer </span>(In the forest.again) is in competition, while Manish Jha''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Matrubhoomi</span>: <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">A Nation Without Women </span>is in the new talents section.<br /><br />Nadine Tarbouriech, who is also a consultant for the film festivals at Cannes and La Rochelle, and is programming a major retrospective on Indian cinema to be held at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2004, says, "A new movement is emerging at the crossroads of Indian popular and art cinema. Some filmmakers have purposely decided to use music and dance in moments of weightless abstraction, allowing the public to fuse with the actors in the depth and complexity of the story. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Maqbool</span>, an incredible adaptation of Macbeth, is an example of this."<br /><br />The festival includes Mira Nair''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Hysterical Blindness </span>starring Uma Thurman, Takeshi Kitano''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Zatoichi </span>(which won best director at Venice), the opening film <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">A Thousand Months </span>by Faouzi Bensaidi and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Dry Eyes </span>by Narjiss Nejjar (both from Morocco), <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The First Letter </span>by Abolfazl Jalili (Iran) and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The Fuse </span>by Pjer Zalica (Bosnia).<br /><br />There are also tributes to the late Daniel Toscan du Plantier, titan of French and world cinema, French actor Alain Delon, Egyptian actress Yousra and Moroccan actress Amina Rachid. Special invitees include Oliver Stone (who is currently shooting his film on Alexander the Great in Morocco), and Ridley Scott (who shot <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Gladiator </span>and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Black Hawk </span>Down in Morocco). India might take some lessons on how to get such biggies to shoot in this country.</div> </div>