Mumbai, May 3: The 100th birthday cake was ready but many guests were cut up with the hosts even before the knife touched the icing.

Indian cinema’s centenary celebrations appear to have lacked the glitz and fan participation many had expected, because of an apparent divide between the government and the film industry over how to commemorate the event. Now, a section of the industry is planning parallel celebrations from July.

Although filmmakers like Vishal Bhardwaj, Ramesh Sippy, south star Nagarjuna and others did participate in the festival, many Bollywood stars, producers, directors and industry bodies stayed away from the Delhi extravaganza.

The festival showcased a 10-film Satyajit Ray retrospective among other things.

The government-run Directorate of Film Festivals hosted commemorative festivals since last August but Mumbai was left out of the list of venues that included Puducherry, Ranchi, Dhaka, Bangkok, Warsaw and Geneva.

With the Centre and the industry going different ways, cinema lovers couldn’t participate in the celebrations.

But if movie buffs missed the action, they could take consolation from V. Shantaram’s son. “I was not aware of this festival in Delhi. I had not received any invitation either,” said Kiran, a permanent member of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, which was co-founded by his father. Shantaram’s Marathi film Pinjara was among the movies screened at the festival.

Govind Nihalani, whose Ardh Satya was also featured, rued the lack of a “comprehensive” showcase. “I was invited but couldn’t make it but I am not aware of any comprehensive celebration of the centenary except one organised by the Maharashtra government.”

Shyam Benegal, whose documentary on Ray and Junoon were also screened, has been recovering from a major surgery. “I have been cut off from the real world since the surgery in March.”

T.P. Agarwal, president of the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association, blamed the Centre for an eleventh-hour response. “We received an invitation on April 21 and the festival started on April 25. So, how could anyone go?” Agarwal said.

Agarwal, whose Policegiri is one of the films stuck because of Sanjay Dutt’s imminent arrest, said the industry was planning its own celebrations from July that would be more “comprehensive”.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt lamented the lack of “one umbrella” and hoped the industry-organised events would bring everyone together.