Kabir Khan?s Kabul Express will have its world premiere at the 31st Toronto International Film Festival, being held from September 7 to 16. The latest production from Yash Raj Films starring John Abraham and Arshad Warsi has been officially selected for the Special Presentations Programme.
The Toronto jury has described Kabul Express as ?an important breakthrough for Indian cinema?. The film will hold its world premiere at the prestigious red carpet special presentation meant for ?artistic and daring cinema from around the world?.
Having shot documentaries in over 50 countries, Kabir has set his first feature film in post-9/11 war-torn Kabul. Comprising a large international cast, the film stars Salman Shahid from Pakistan, Hanif Hum Ghum from Afghanistan and Linda Arsenio from USA, apart from John and Arshad who play TV journalists in Kabul in search of the ultimate news coup: meeting the Taliban.
Produced by Aditya Chopra, Kabul Express is the first international feature film to have been entirely shot in post-Taliban Afghanistan and that too over two months. Hence the country is not just a location, but a character by itself. There are things that can only happen in Afghanistan. It takes six letters from three different ministries to get a visa but only one phone call to organise 30 Kalashnikovs and two rocket launchers. One can take a chopper and fly pretty much anywhere in Kabul but you cannot get a woman to show her face on camera.
Kabul Express releases here later this year.
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| Raking it in: Subrata Datta and Tannishtha Chatterjee in Bibar |
Subrata Sen?s Bibar has brought home a bagful of awards from the Osian?s-Cinefan, the 8th Festival of Asian Cinema, held in Delhi from July 14-23. A bouquet of five Bengali movie and one crossover film from Bengal were screened at the 10-day celluloid spread that hosted ?the best of Asian films made in recent times?, alongside retrospectives and tributes to masters.
Bibar, which participated in the Indian Competition section, fetched the best actor and actress awards for Subrata Datta and Tannishtha Chatterjee, elbowing out the likes of Subhasish Mukherjee in Herbert, and Urmila Matondkar in Onir?s Bas Ek Pal.
An adaptation of Samaresh Majumdar?s controversial novel of the 1970s, Bibar portrays the life of social climber Biresh, trying to break free of his monotonous middle-class moorings. Despite having flings with a string of women, he seems to be in love with high-society call girl Neeta (played by Tannishtha) whom he later murders.
Subrata, who essays the role of Biresh, is a National School of Drama (NSD) graduate. He forayed into Bengali films with Subrata Sen?s Swapner Feriwala before playing a bit role as one of the compatriots of Mangal Pandey in the Aamir Khan blockbuster. He was seen in a more fleshed-out character (that of the villain) in Tango Charlie, starring Ajay Devgan and Nandana Dev Sen.
Tannishtha, who too is from NSD, is currently shooting in London for the film adaptation of Monica Ali?s Brick Lane. She also featured in German director Florian Gallenberger?s Shadows of Time and Strings, co-starring Adam Bedi.
Suman Mukhopadhyay?s Herbert, Ashoke Viswanathan?s Andhakarer Shabdo, Sudeshna Roy-Abhijit Guha?s Teen Yaari Katha, Onir?s Bas Ek Pal and Santosh Sivan?s Ananadbhadram were some of the others in the Indian Competition.
