13.08. – 24.08.23 DHARAVI (City of Dreams) & 10 more
We screen more than 10 films of one of the finest filmmakers in India under the label “Sudhir Mishra Reloaded”.
We open the retrospective with his award winning cult movie “Dharavi – City of Dreams”, starring some of the finest Indian movie stars in the 1990s such as: Shabani Azmi, Om Puri, Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor.
The poster motive is taken from his recent film “Rumours (AFWAAH)“, starring Bhumi Pednekar and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Sudhir Mishra is widely regarded as the most youthful film-maker of India, working in Mumbai, Sudhir Mishra is also one of the most articulate, forceful and fearless voices of Indian cinema today.
Sudhir Mishra began his career in the mid 80s as a co-screenwriter, when he penned a biting and subversive satire Jane Bhi Do Yaaro (Let it Go, friends) which rose to become perhaps the most admired comedy of the Indian film history.
As a director, Mishra started his career with Ye Wo Manzil Toh Nahi (This is Not our Destination,1986), a sharp political statement on the corruption and thuggery prevalent in India of the day.
But as a talented craftsman behind the camera, he announced his arrival on the big stage with a film called Dharavi [City of Dreams](1992), which featured two internationally-renowned actors – Shabana Azmi and Om Puri.
Powered by a moving story about migrants living in Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia, and redefining for us the world of alienation and homelessness, Dharavi [City of Dreams] was a sought-after entry to international film festivals. It won the “Ville De Nantes” Prize’ at the Festival of Three Continents, Nantes, France.Post-Dharavi, Sudhir Mishra made a trend-setting modern thriller Is Raat Ki Suba Nahin [No End to This Night], 1996) and, from this film on, his method has consistently questioned the invincibility of the classical hero who can do no wrong and, simultaneously, introduced bold and free-spirited female characters who have stood out in the stifling male-dominated world of the Mumbai cinema.
His film A Thousand Wishes Like This [Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi] was a film in this vein and was hailed by the renowned French director Alain Corneau as “masterly”.
Sudhir Mishra’s recent Netflix film Serious Men (2022) took a sharp look at the cast dynamics of the Indian society, in the guise of a father-son story. The film’s lead, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, was nominated for a National Emmy.
His latest film Rumours [AFWAAH] (2023) has been lavishly reviewed in the press for its storytelling and cinematic craft, and praised for its fearlessness in taking on the current political situation in India.
Sudhir Mishra is a keen student of world cinema and an admirer of a broad spectrum of cinéastes, from Kurosawa and Ray to Tarantino and Martin Scorcese.