Here is a first for Melbourne, which is sure to draw the crowds - the inaugural 'Indian Melbourne Film Festival' (IMFF) - which presents a special film program focused on screening a range of popular Indian feature films, many of which have never been accessible outside India - including feature films in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada.
India's booming film industry, happens to be one of the most productive in the world and with this six day festival, which will begin on Monday December 27, 2010, audiences will be given the opportunity to explore Indian Cinema beyond the typical Bollywood feature; as such you will be exposed to some of the most popular feature films in Indian cinema, charting back to 1975, to today's most recent releases.
This film festival will be held at 'India Talkies,' located at 200 Bourke Street, in the Melbourne CBD. This multipurpose venue seats over 600 patrons and it regularly screens a range of Indian feature films. It is expected there will be two feature films screened per a day, and admission is only $2.00 per a film. To book tickets for any of the films contact India Talkies; 0413 250 110 or 0466 839 699.
Here is a selection of the feature films scheduled to screen at the upcoming festival;
Sholay (1975)
Considered to be one of the highest grossing Indian feature films of all time, Sholay, directed by Ramesh Sippy, stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and Amjad Khan. This action-adventure Western - inspired by the 'Spaghetti-Westerns' genre, has itself inspired many imitations over the years and still remains as popular as it was on release.
Muta Mestri (1993)
This is another incredibly popular Indian feature, directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy and starring Chiranjeevi, Meena and Roja. The action-drama was filmed in Telugu.
Bobbili Puli (1982)
Directed by Dasari Narayana Rao, this action-drama - which follows the the trials of war-hero retuning home, was filmed in Telugu, and stars N.T. Rama Rao, Sridevi, Kongara Jaggaiah and Kaikala Satyanarayana.
Maleyali Jotheyali (2009)
This 2009 romance was filmed in Kannada and stars Ganesh, Anjana Sukhani and Yuvika Chaudh. This feature received 'Best Film' and 'Best Actor' at the 57th South Filmfare Awards.
Robo (2010)
The science-fiction action-adventure Tamil film is directed by S. Shankar and stars Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai and Danny Denzongpa, and features a score by A. R. Rahman. This extremely popular film, which is titled Robo in Telugu (the original title is Enthiran in Tamil), was released in the USA and Canada.
Rann (2010)
This Hindi film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sudeep, Ritesh Deshmukh, and Gul Panag and was directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The drama/mystery details the rivalry between two television networks, in the wake of a bomb explosion.
Simha (2010)
This recently released feature was directed by Boyapati Seenu, and the Telugu film stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Nayantara, Namitha and Sneha Ullal.
Gharana Mogudu (1992)
This is another popular Telugu feature film, directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and starring Chiranjeevi,
Nagma, Rao Gopal Rao, Kaikala Satyanarayana, and Vani Viswanath. The family drama made a star of Chiranjeevi.
Jackie (2010)
Directed by Duniya Soori and featuring Puneet Rajkumar and Bhavana Menon, this Kannada action film was released internationally and was well-received.
