Salaam Bollywood: MAMI is show time for Mumbai

Mumbai is the financial capital of India and also the epicentre of the Indian film industry. The city plays such a major role in production and dissemination of Indian films and television programmes that it is widely known as '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 organise an annual International Film Festival, which the film industry and the country could be proud of.

The festival for 16 years and the aim was to foster a climate of good cinema. The city was proud of MAMI because it is Mumbai’s only film festival that is entirely created and run by film professionals and a group of members from corporate India. There is an old saying that where there is a will there is a way. Appreciation of good cinema stripped off all the limiting labels of art and commercial and showcased the best of films to the audience.

For 16 years the festival was an annual exercise and cinema buffs in the city looked forward to. This year with a change in sponsors one was not sure what would be the fate of MAMI. Frankly for a while it appeared like the festival may not happen or it may not happen at the grand scale we were accustomed to but all is well that ends well and finally the patrons can heave a sigh of relief.

MAMI unveiled its new and vibrant brand identity for the 17th Mumbai Film Festival with its sponsor partners – title sponsor partner, Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) and associate sponsor partner, STAR India.

MAMI's 17th Mumbai Film Festival – the gateway to world cinema and the gateway to Indian cinema for the world – will be held in Mumbai from October 29 to November 5.

Nita Ambani, founder and chairperson of Reliance Foundation said, “Films are a celebration of life – they add to life joy and colour; they educate us, provoke us and make us think; they make us laugh. Films influence our own lives in many ways.”

A change in sponsors brings a change in brand identity and to an extent, also the message of the festival. Film critic, author Anupama Chopra, now Festival Director, MAMI, said, “It gives me great pride and joy to carry forward the MAMI baton. It’s an enormous responsibility but we have enormous support from the team and we hope to create an event that the city can be proud of.”

The event was held at a suburban hotel and there was something special about the atmosphere. There was energy in the room where everyone wanted to their best for the festival.

STAR India who is the other sponsor with MAMI for the 17th Mumbai Film Festival said they would leverage the power of their network to build India as a leading destination for a world class film festival. This association reflects STAR India's vision of 'Inspiring a Billion Imaginations' and this endeavour will establish MAMI as a platform for excellence in cinema," said Star India COO Sanjay Gupta.

Some prominent filmmakers like Karan Johar were present at the occasion; those who were not had sent their messages. Deepika Padukone, member and Board of Trustees, said “MAMI is a wonderful space to discover and nurture fresh talent, build audiences and interact with other talent from across the world”.

The countdown for the event, that will be a show stopper for the city, has begun. Last month, MAMI announced and issued its ‘Call for Entries’ through a specially produced film, in a way a first of its kind that brought together four of the industry's leading production houses. The feedback has been very positive and the festival has already received quite a few submissions from across India and the world.

Additionally, the MAMI team has received an overwhelming show of support from members of the Indian Film fraternity who have come together to commit their time and resources a festival that will showcase the best creative talent from India and around the world.

What is wonderful about the committee is that they are not being laid back and not leaving a single stone unturned to make this into an event to remember. The new Board of Trustees of MAMI include filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Farhan Akhtar, Vikramaditya Motwane, actor Riteish Deshmukh, Anand Mahindra, Chairman & MD, Mahindra Group, Ajay Bijli, Chairman and MD, PVR Pvt and Siddharth Roy Kapur, MD, Disney.

Earlier this year in February 2015, the MAMI team invited Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, TIFF and Natalie Lue, Vice-President, Production and Visitor Experience of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to conduct a series of workshops. TIFF is recognised as one of the most successful Film Festivals around the world. Traditionally, many Best Picture Oscar winners come out of the Toronto Film Festival.

All of us know that there are many festivals round the year but for Mumbai city The Mumbai Film Festival is an inclusive movie feast. It is the city’s honour and prestige and therefore concentrates on the cutting-edge, independent cinema – the art house fare alongside genre movies from Bollywood, Hollywood and cult international movies.

It aims to offer the best of world cinema to the people of Mumbai and the best of Indian cinema to the world and it is because MAMI revels in the sheer pleasure of cinema. The idea is to relish and spread joy and to enhance the lives of the viewers. The goal of MAMI this year is to nurture and ignite a passion for movies, to experience n excel in cinema.

- Bhawana Somaaya @bhawanasomaaya