A digitally restored version of British director Peter Brook’s 1989 film The Mahabharata is set to premiere at this year’s London Indian Film Festival (LIFF), the organisers have announced.
The 1989 film, starring Mallika Sarabhai as Draupadi, will get a red-carpet screening at the British Film Institute’s largest IMAX screen when the festival opens in July.
The Mahabharata will be screened to celebrate the 100th birth year of Brook, who received a Padma Shri in 2021 for his contributions in the field of art.
Tamil-French film Little Jaffna and Rima Das’s Assamese teen drama Village Rockstars 2 will also be screened at the film festival.
“We are delighted to showcase some of South Asia's most outstanding new indie films across London and Birmingham in July, and to not only highlight emerging talent… but to premiere the legendary Padma Shri UK director Peter Brook's spectacular ‘The Mahabharata’ at the BFI IMAX, literally the biggest story ever showing on the Britain's largest screen,” said Cary Rajinder Sawhney, Director of the London and Birmingham Indian Film Festivals.
“In our industry events at the festival we will also be celebrating the filmmaking potential of South Asians born and living in the UK, and their potential to partner with Indian filmmakers on exciting future cross-collaborations,” Sawhney added.
The festival is slated to take place between July 16 and 23 across London and Birmingham. It will also celebrate budding British talent to encourage more South Asians in the country to become a part of the film industry.
