Marathi film being screened at Cannes

The content of Indian cinema (and not that of designer gowns), is finally being talked about at Cannes this year . As films like Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wassseypur, Ashim Ahluwalia's Miss Lovely and Vasan Bala's Peddlers, are in the news as official selections for the Cannes Festival 2012, another festival that happens at the Festival de Cannes in the same period - the Artisan Festival International (AFI), World Cinema, is seeing a Marathi film vying for top honours.
The film, Khalti Doka Varti Paay(Upside Down), sees the directorial debut of Ajay Singh, who has till date worked as assistant director in films like Aamir and Quick Gun Murugan. Produced by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Junaid Memon of Nomad Films, the film traces the journey of a little village boy whose only desire is to see a circus in a big city! As he undertakes that journey what he sees and feels of the urban life is what the films deals with in a very sensitive and refreshing manner.
Shot entirely in the picturesque Saswad in Pune, the film has already got 11 festival invites mostly in the competition category. In fact, after reading Ajay Singh's script Junaid even approached Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi to direct the film. However, since he was all tied up, the reins of direction were handed over to Ajay Singh itself. Say the producers, "Ajay has done justice to the film and we have even plans to submit this film for the Oscars. It is a great feeling to get an official selection at the Cannes Artisan Festival International, where the best of world cinema is showcased. We don't only want to play the role of a producer here, it is our duty to take this film to an international platform and I am sure it will see success in all markets."