Not Just Bollywood 2018 at HOME
Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
At HOME this September film fans can catch the second Not Just Bollywood season. Curated by University of Manchester’s Omar Ahmed, the season, which debuted last year, is a vital window into India’s independent film scene. There’s a selection of seldom seen classics and brand new films, augmented by a variety of talks, discussions and filmmaker Q&As. This year’s lineup promises to explore “the changing on-screen representations of caste, shaping global conversations around feminism, climate change and family and providing a window into Indian society today.”
Not Just Bollywood varied programme takes in everything from documentaries to Indian noir in an effort to expose the rich breadth of Indian cinema. The season opens on Tuesday 11th September with an hour long talk entitled ‘Caste on Indian Screen: Marginalising the real in the reel’, followed by a 35mm screening of Shekhar Kapur’s 1994 Bandit Queen, a film about feminist resistance which promises a fusion of the Western and melodrama.
Other highlights of the season include a Q&A screening of Bornila Chatterjee’s The Hungry (Saturday 15th September), which reimagines Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus in the world of emerging Indian elite. Neeraj Ghaywan’s 2015 Cannes prizewinner, Masaan (Tuesday 18th September) will screen alongside a free, informal discussion about caste in Indian cinema. Finally, season curator Omar Ahmed will introduce the closing film, a screening of Aditya Kripalani’s debut feature Tikli and Laxmi Bomb on Sunday 30th September.
