London Indian Film Festival 2015 news: Glamour and grit, stars confirmed…

July 15 2015

• Hollywood star Suraj Sharma to attend Gala Opening premiere screening, ‘Umrika’ tomorrow
• Indian film ‘royalty’ Soha Ali Khan to grace screening of her film, ’31st October’, about 1984 troubles
  
• Two films now for special charity evening with Bollywood star Manisha Koirala and director Mani Ratnam
• Mani Ratnam masterclass at BFI will be with director Peter Webber (‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’)
• Bollywood star Konkona Sen Sharma to attend screenings of ‘Saari Raat’ and ‘Gour Hari Dastaan’
• Bafta Nominated director/screenwriter Amit Gupta and stars from his latest film, ‘One Crazy Thing‘’, Bafta breakthrough Brit, Ray Panthaki and female co-star Daisy Bevan, (from Redgrave family), to appear at festival.

Europe’s largest platform for independent Indian cinema rolls out the carpet tomorrow…

HE charmed the world as Pi Patel in his debut film “Life of Pi”, directed by Oscar winner Ang Lee.

The great director discovered him in an open casting in India and set him on a career which has seen him become a global star.

He featured in the last TV series of the Emmy-award winning thriller “Homeland”, alongside Hollywood star Claire Danes, and now you have your chance to get up close and personal with him at the opening gala of the London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) tomorrow (July 16).

Suraj Sharma (main picture above at front) will be present for the UK premiere of “Umrika”, in which he stars alongside Tony Revolori (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”) and Bollywood hunk, Prateik Babbar.

He will be joined by up and coming Indian “Umrika” director Prashant Nair, whose comedy-driven first film, “Delhi in Day” was a hit at the 2012 LIFF. These two will be joined by a host of celebrities on the red carpet. (See list below). Adil Hussain who is also in the festival film “Tigers” will join his “Umrika” colleagues.

Soha Ali Khan

“Umrika” charts the American dream as seen by a farming community in 1980s rural Punjab, when one of their number heads to the land of opportunity with stars in his eyes. But suspicions abound about the fate of Udai (Babbar) and lead Ramakant, (Sharma) to go in search of his older brother.

On Saturday afternoon, one of India’s most individual, eclectic and electrifying directors, Mani Ratnam, takes to the chair at the BFI Southbank for a special masterclass with British director Peter Webber posing the questions. Webber directed the much acclaimed “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson.

Ratnam, who has a long and distinguished career in both Tamil and Bollywood cinema is one of a rare breed, capable of combining the popular and the truly cinematic in a single film with wide appeal.

Later that evening, Soha Ali Khan will attend the world premiere of her film, “31st October“. This film covering the horrific events following the assassination of Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, will be among the most keenly anticipated of the 20 or so films in the festival. Soha hails from an extremely distinguished family – her late father ‘Tiger’ Pataudi, remains a towering figure in the mythology surrounding Indian cricket and his lustre was only amplified when he married Sharmila Tagore, one of the screen sirens of her day. Soha’s brother is Bollywood hunk and A-list star Saif Ali Khan. Indian actor Vir Das who also features in the film will be there. BBC presenters Sunny and Shay are expected to be doing the Q&A (at the time of going to press). Sunny, a keen cinephile, has a regular film column on www.asianculturevulture.com

Manisha Koirala

On Tuesday, Bollywood watchers will be drawn to a special charity evening in aid of the Nepal earthquake victims.Nepali-born Manisha Koirala and director will present their pathbreaking inter-religious romance story, “Bombay”. This will be preceded by a screening of Canadian Richie Mehta’s powerful and award-winning 2013 film, “Siddharth” about a young boy who goes missing in India and prompts his father to embark on a heartrending search.

The screenings at the iconic Grange Hotel St Paul’s will be followed by a lavish dinner and more fundraising for Indian Ocean Disaster Relief, the charity collecting for the Nepal earthquake victims. It was set up by the Matharu family, who own and run The Grange Hotels, in the aftermath of 2004 Asian Tsunami.

*Among the stars expected to attend the gala opening are – author and actor Meera Syal; director Gurinder Chadha and husband Paul Mayeda Berges;singers Arjun and Navin Kundra; film director and vocalist, Sangeeta Datta and her son musician Soumik Datta; award-winning British directors Sally El Hosani and Pratibha Parmar; and actors Goldy Notay, Rez Kempton, James Floyd, and Manjinder Virk. Solomon Akhtar, a finalist on the BBC’s “The Apprentice” and who is set to feature in the next series of Sky’s “Desi Rascals” is on the list and could indicate a few other names from the reality TV show appearing on the red carpet. Model and reality TV star Anita Kaushik is also among the list of red carpet attendees sent out by organisers.

Main top picture: Suraj Sharma and Tony Revolori in ‘Umrika’; top right – Hollywood star Gillian Anderson at LIFF 2014 opening gala; bottom right – Amy Jackson, British-born Bollywood star, LIFF 2014 opening gala

• Five films to see at the London Indian Film Festival & full listings
• Focus on Gala and charity screenings only

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Tickets/info: http://londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk/programme.htm