The Bagri Foundation London & Birmingham Indian Film Festivals, now among Europe’s largest Indian film festivals, showcased its talent on the red carpet, followed by the opening film, Kavi Raz’s The Black Prince, on June 22 at the BFI Southbank.
Cary Sawhney, The Festival’s executive and programming director, gave an inspiring speech before the opening film, confirming that this year had the best mix of movies, with many making their London premiere through LIFF. The festival also showcased an Italian film, which had Indian characters for the first time.
The story of The Black Prince follows Maharaja Duleep Singh, crowned at the age of five to be the king of the Sikh Empire only for treachery to rob him of his throne. To save his life he is taken to England and raised as a Christian. However, when he comes of age he seeks out his mother who encourages him to reclaim his true heritage and rightful place as leader of the Kingdom of Punjab. He then faces a battle between the two contrasting cultures and his eventual reconciliation with his Sikh traditions, along with his fight to reclaim the throne of the Kingdom of Punjab.
The lead role of Duleep Singh was played by Satinder Sartaaj, an acclaimed singer-poet making his acting debut, and had flown over from India for the red carpet and the Q&A after the screening. Also on the red carpet were Sophie Stevens and Laenna Joyce, who play Duleep’s first and second wife respectively and Ameet Chana, Rup Magon, Lyndon Ogbourne and Ranjit Shudh.
The opening film this year, was way different from last year's female-centric Parched, but the historic period film this year was a tough subject to work with. Like most period films, one had to strike a delicate balance while portraying the turmoil of the era while maintaining historical accuracy, and the film did that extremely well. Maharani Jind Kaur’s role, played by the noted actress Shabana Azmi, could have been a tide more elaborate, though.
The film was received with a huge round of applause and a keen and interactive Q&A followed, with questions ranging from the film, to Satinder’s other career interests.
High profile personalities who graced the premiere in London included Ashutosh Gowariker, British actress Meera Syal CBE, director Gurinder Chadha OBE, Lord and Lady Desai, Lord Gadhia, Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh amongst others.
LIFF renamed its Birmingham chapter this year as the Birmingham Indian Film Festival. Known as the ‘punk-rock of Indian cinema’, the festival has been showcasing South Asian films for the past eight years and will end with another stunning film, The Sexy Durga on June 29.
