Mumbai, October 3, 2015 – Eros International’s ‘Aligarh’, the latest film from National award-winning filmmaker Hansal Mehta, has been selected as the opening film at the 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival on October 30th 2015. This pivotal film marks the first time that a Hindi film will open the festival since 1997, the inaugural year of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
Set in a small town in Uttar Pradesh from which the film takes its name, ‘Aligarh’ is the story of a professor (Manoj Bajpayee) fired for his sexuality and a young journalist (Rajkummar Rao) who tells his story to the world. Based on true events, the film follows Dr. S R Siras, a professor at the Aligarh Muslim University who, when discovered to be homosexual, was fired from his position. The film depicts the unlikely friendship between Dr. Siras and a reporter investigating his first big story, a relationship that will change them both forever.
Aligarh has been selected to screen at the 20th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea and the 59th BFI London Film Festival, this October. This will mark the first time in almost two decades that a Hindi film will open the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
"I am overjoyed that Aligarh, my first film about a city other than Mumbai is the opening film of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. This is a befitting reward for a team that has worked selflessly to make a film they are passionate about. This festival holds a very special place in my heart as it began a journey of awards for Shahid which was until then an unheralded dark horse in a year of sparkling indies. We (Eros International, my team and me) are looking forward to the night and to sharing this special film with the amazing MAMI audience," said Hansal Mehta, who won the National Award for Best Direction in 2013 with his critically acclaimed Shahid.
Producer Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International added, "We are delighted at the selection of Aligarh for this recognition at a significant film platform like Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. This strengthens our belief at Eros International in backing the vision of directors like Hansal who tell meaningful, humane stories through their films."
Upon announcing the decision to open the festival with Aligarh, Anupama Chopra, Festival Director, said, “Aligarh is a powerful film that tells an important story on a sensitive subject. Hansal Mehta has a unique ability to tell uncommon human stories on the celluloid screen. Our mission is to showcase exciting and thought-provoking stories and I am sure our audience will enjoy our festival opener.”
Hansal Mehta’s illustrious career began in television, where he directed the cooking show Khana Khazana (1993–2000) starring Sanjeev Kapoor. Mehta made his feature film debut with Jayate (1999), which screened at the International Film Festival of India in Hyderabad as part of the Indian Panorama (1999-2000). He followed up his debut with the cult hit Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar in 2000, and spent the next decade making feature length and short films. He is best known for his moving biopic Shahid in 2013. The film, starring Rajkummar Rao, chronicles the life of Shahid Azmi, a human rights lawyer murdered in 2010. Mehta and Rao continued to collaborate in Mehta’s next film, City Lights, an adaptation of Metro Manila, a British independent film.
The 17th Jio MAMI’s Mumbai Film Festival will be held in Mumbai from October 29th to November 5th 2015. The film screenings will take place at PVR Versova, PVR Citi Mall, Andheri, PVR LP, Phoenix Mills and Regal – Colaba. To attend the festival, viewers can register online at http://in.bookmyshow.com/
Along with Chairperson Kiran Rao and Festival Director Anupama Chopra, the members of the new Board of Trustees of MAMI are Filmmakers Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar and Vikramaditya Motwane, Actors Riteish Deshmukh and Deepika Padukone, Mr. Anand Mahindra, Chairman & MD, The Mahindra Group, Mr. Ajay Bijli, Chairman and MD, PVR Ltd, Mr. Siddharth Roy Kapur, MD, Disney and Mr. Manish Mundra, Founder and CEO, Drishyam Films. These eminent personalities, outstanding achievers in their respective fields, are bringing together their expertise and experience to give Mumbai and India a bigger, better and even more exciting 17th edition of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
Jio MAMI VISION 2015
The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival is an inclusive movie feast. We showcase the latest cutting-edge independent cinema, cult international films and art house fare alongside genre movies from Bollywood and Hollywood. We offer the best of world cinema to the people of Mumbai and the best of Indian cinema to the world. The festival is run by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image, popularly known as MAMI. This is a space where we revel in the sheer pleasure of cinema, the joy it gives us and the way it enhances our lives. Our goal is to nurture and ignite a passion for movies. We want Jio MAMI to be shorthand for excellence in cinema.
ABOUT Jio MAMI
Mumbai - the financial capital of India is also the epicentre of the Indian film industry. The city plays such a major role in production and dissemination of Indian films and television programs that it is widely known by its acronym 'Bollywood'. In 1997, a group of film industry stalwarts headed by late Hrishikesh Mukherjee founded the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) as a not-for-profit Trust. Their main objective was to organize an annual International Film Festival of which the film industry and the country could be proud . MAMI has been organizing the festival for the last 16 years and aims to foster a climate of good cinema. MAMI engages people from all walks of life across the city and country who enjoy and love good cinema. It is Mumbai’s only film festival that is entirely created and run by film professionals and a group of members from corporate India. Appreciation of good cinema, stripped of all the limiting labels of art and commercial, can only come about through exposure to the best of films the world has to offer. The Festival is the first step in that direction.
In their Mission Statement in 1997, the MAMI Board of Trustees said, "We feel it is the need of the hour to disseminate and inculcate good cinema among Indian audiences. The only way to achieve this is to celebrate cinema by hosting an International Film Festival in Mumbai, India's film and entertainment capital. MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving Image) is committed to start Mumbai's first independent international film festival organised by practicing film makers."
For more information on the 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival scheduled to be held from 29th October- 5th November 2015, do visit our MAMI Website, Twitter handle, Facebook Page, Instagram and YouTube as follows:
#JioMAMI2015
Twitter: @Mumbaifilmfest
Facebook: /MumbaiFilmFestival
Instagram: /mumbaifilmfestival
YouTube: Mumbai Film Festival
