The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), set to begin on September 5, has an interesting lineup of Indian films this year. Lijo Jose Pellissery's Jallikattu, Geetu Mohandas's Moothon, Gitanjali Rao's Bombay Rose and Shonali Bose's The Sky is Pink will be screened at the festival.
1. Jallikattu
Maverick Malayalam filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery's Jallikattu will premiere at TIFF. “A bold new voice in Malayalam cinema, Lijo Jose Pellissery presents a portrait of a remote village in his hometown where a buffalo escapes and causes a frenzy of ecstatic violence,” reads the synopsis of the film on TIFF's website. Based on Maoist, a short story by S. Hareesh, Jallikattu is Pellissery's much-anticipated outing after his spectacular Angamaly Diaries and Ee. Ma. Yau. The film features Antony Varghese (who debuted with Angamaly Diaries), Chemban Vinod Jose, and Sabumon Abdusamad among others.
2. Bombay Rose
Gitanjali Rao's debut directorial animated film Bombay Rose 'follows multiple characters, each connected by a single rose, as they navigate life and love in the sprawling Indian metropolis'. Bombay Rose is also the first Indian animation film to open the Critics' Week at the Venice Film Festival, later this month, after which it will head to Toronto where it will feature in 'Contemporary World Cinema' strand.
“They say it takes a village to bring up a child, well it took hundreds of hardworking, ambitious and talented Indian artists to make Bombay Rose and I am as much delighted for them, as I am for me, that Bombay Rose is gaining such recognition by the international industry. I am thankful to Cameron and his team for selecting Bombay Rose and look forward to the response of Tiff’s audiences,” Rao said in a statement.
3. Moothon (The Elder One)
Written and directed by Geetu Mohandas, Moothon is a bilingual film that follows a 14-year-old boy who comes from Lakshadweep to Mumbai in search of his elder brother. Starring Nivin Pauly, Shashank Arora and Sobhita Dhulipada, the film is co-produced by Anurag Kashyap. The film's teaser which was released in January, had garnered attention, especially for Nivin's intense look. Moothon is also a much awaited film, considering Mohandas' debut venture Liars' Dice had bagged two National Awards.
4. The Sky is Pink
Shonali Bose's The Sky is Pink, featuring Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar and Zaira Wasim, will premiere at the Gala Presentation at TIFF. The film is a love story of motivational speaker Aisha Chaudhary's parents, essayed by Priyanka and Farhan. Aisha (played by Zaira Wasim), was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.
“Twenty-five years in the relationship of a mother (Priyanka Chopra) and father (Farhan Akhtar) is told from the perspective of their recently deceased teenage daughter, in this poignant, affecting, and unexpectedly humorous love story,” reads the synopsis.
"The Sky Is Pink is a deeply personal and an incredibly special film for me. At its core, this is an extraordinary story of what it means to be a family. I am honoured that the film will premiere at TIFF; my third film to premiere at TIFF and I cannot wait," Shonali said in a statement.
