The BFI has begun a celebration of Indian films, to last till December as a part the UK India Year of Culture. Co-curated by BFI Head Curator Robin Baker, and writer and programmer Meenakshi Shedde, the BFI’s 'India on Film' programme kicked off with Bollywood 2.0, a focus on acclaimed ‘New Bollywood’ films which have pushed the boundaries of conventional Bollywood filmmaking by combining song and dance numbers with more realistic stories that tackle issues such as caste, crime, homosexuality and feminism.
The Art of Indian Cinema will be running alongside, with free exhibits of stunning posters, promotional materials drawn from the collections of the BFI National Archive, engaging visitors in the spectacle and artistry of India's cinema art in the golden age.
Screening in April will be Anurag Kashyap's crime thriller Raman Raghav, based on a real-life serial killer, who confessed to killing over 30 people in Mumbai in the 1960s. The film was selected at Cannes in 2016. Three stories intersect by the Ganges in Neeraj Ghaywan’s superb debut feature, Masaan which won two prizes at Cannes, and Hansal Mehta's Shahid - a powerful thriller based on the life of Shahid Azmi, the Muslim human rights activist and lawyer who freed many poor people, including Muslims, languishing in Indian prisons without evidence of their crimes, are in the list this month.
Shakun Batra's Kapoor & Sons, redefining the traditional Bollywood family drama with a story of a dysfunctional family grappling with homosexuality, parental infidelity and death; Chaitanya Tamhane’s debut feature Court – an art house film that redefines what a Bombay film in Hindi can be and won top prizes at Venice. Completing the programme is April is Vikas Bahl's Queen a delightful film about a traditional young Delhi woman who is stood up by her fiancé on the eve of her wedding and emerges as a confident and liberated woman after going on her honeymoon to Europe alone.
India on Film will continue at BFI Southbank in May with Music in Indian Cinema: Song and Dance.
