Director Vishal Bhardwaj is one of the chosen ones for the Shakespeares on Screen festival that celebrates the British icon's influence on the world film industry. The festival that runs in London from 27 to 30 April, will see Bhardwaj and his scriptwriting team participate in a panel discussion at Asia House and, hold a Q and A session alongside each film screening at the BFI.
The directors received huge acclaim for writing and directing adaptations of three Shakespearean classics; 'Maqbool' (Macbeth), 'Omkara' (Othello), and Haider (Hamlet). Dr Preti Taneja, Co-organiser and Shakespeare scholar said, “I was surprised when Bhardwaj's Haider, a brilliant interpretation of Hamlet set in Kashmir, was screened in just a handful of cinemas in the UK. Its' an incredibly powerful film about British colonialism and its after-effects on the Indian occupation of Kashmir. It's critical of human rights abuses by the Indian army in the 1990s, in ways we rarely are allowed to see on screen.”
The event will unfold at London's Asia house and the British Film Institute during the week of Shakespeare's quarter centenary celebrations.
