Based on a story by Munshi Premchand and set a year before the Indian rebellion of 1857, the film comments on the circumstances that led to the colonisation of India by the British.

Set in the kingdom of Oudh during the last days of the Moghul Empire, The Chess Players follows two Indian noblemen whose obsession with the game renders them oblivious to the treacherous historic events happening around them. Richard Attenborough stars as the British officer who covertly manoeuvres on behalf of the East India Company to seize control of the region.

This film is remarkable in Ray’s oeuvre as it was his first feature film in a language other than Bengali. It is also his most expensive and star-studded film, featuring the likes of Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Amjad Khan, Shabana Azmi, Victor Bannerjee and Richard Attenborough.

The Chess Players is a masterfully told and visually stunning historical drama.

This overtly political sequel to GOOPY GYNE BAGHA BYNE uses the metaphor of the kingdom of the evil Diamond King or Hirok Raj for India during Indira Gandhi's emergency period. The movie is probably the most influential fantasy movie in Bengali cinema.

The musical duo of Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne make a comeback in this movie, where they are invited to the court of the Hirak Raja to perform at the kingdom's Jubilee Celebrations.

Upon arriving in the kingdom, their innocent questions and naïve curiosity uncover that all is not well in the kingdom. The litany of corruption includes the exploitation of poor farmers and diamond-miners. Equally, there are sycophantic courtiers and ruthless armies, not to mention the mad scientist in possession of a brain-washing machine!

With the help of an upstanding school-master, Goopi and Bagha set out to restore natural justice in this evil land.

"A thought provoking film that deserves to be seen by all.”
Manish Gajjar, BBC Bollywood Correspondent

Subhash Ghai has always impressed as a director. In this movie, he explores contemporary subject matter through ‘film noir’.

A young Afghan suicide bomber, assuming the identity of Numair Qazi (Anurag) – a deceased Muslim whose parents died in the Gujarat riots – comes to Delhi on a mission.
His aim is to detonate a bomb at the 15th August Red Fort celebrations.

As the planned day of the explosion approaches, Numair encounters various characters happily coexisting irrespective of their race or religion. Director, Ghai depicts communal harmony with great sensitivity. Despite keeping a focused mind, Numair gets caught in an emotional dilemma about whether to go ahead with his mission.

Newcomer Anurag Sinha gives a chilling performance as the bomber, conveying the brooding anger and deep-rooted conviction his character requires. Shefali excels as a hot-tempered, headstrong activist wife. Ghai deserves to be applauded for introducing other characters like the poet, Gaffar Bhai, played by theatre actor Habib Tanvir. He intellectually adds lighter moments to an otherwise tension-filled narrative.

**LOOK OUT FOR ANIL KAPOOR’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED GANDHI MY FATHER - SHOWING IN THE FESTIVAL at 6pm, 29th May at Genesis Cinema***

India, 1948. When the Bombay police encounter a dying tramp, they need his father’s name to admit him to hospital. Who is he and why is he muttering ‘Mahatma Gandhi’?

This admirable bio-pic of the troubled relationship between Gandhi (Darshan Jariwala) and his eldest son, Harilal (Akshaye Khanna), explores the ideological gap and emotional tensions between the two men. It maps the disintegration of their association from the early South African years to post-1915, when they moved back to India and Gandhi immersed himself in the ‘Quit India’ movement. Isolated and depressed, Harilal died an anonymous death as an alcoholic in a Bombay hospital.

Its understated performances and lucid direction are balanced and effective. It could be about any fraught father-son relationship, but this has a deep emotional resonance as it is steeped in truth and history. It addresses the question: was ‘Bapu’, the father of the Indian nation, a good father to his own son? Moving, credible and tragic.

(adapted from Time Out review 2007 by Anil Sinanan)

Three bachelors — Arush (Kumar), Tanmay (Deshmukh) and Ali (Khan) — are having the time of their lives in Sydney.

They suddenly find their dating and mating rituals interrupted by the arrival of a baby (called Angel) on their doorstep – complete with a letter claiming that one of them is its father. Arush, Tanmay and Ali know a thing or two about women, but when it comes to babies, it’s another matter.  But then Angel works her charm and before long, the three lecherous bachelors have been transformed into loving, caring fathers.

Sajid Khan's proves that he can make his audience both laugh and cry. (…) it's the conviction of the cast and the fine balance between slapstick comedy and emotion that ultimately sweetens this dummy.

And in case you haven't spotted it – yes, this is India's version of THREE MEN
AND A BABY - and very funny it is too…

(adapted from BBCi review)

Debut feature from B. Ajit Naag, Rihla is a social drama which deals with the prejudice and stigma often directed at children with learning difficulties.

Vasanthi is a widow with two children. Her eldest child, Brinda, is a slow learner and faces humiliation from her peers at school. Tabbu is self-conscious and ill at ease with her big sister’s learning difficulties.

The relationship between the sisters is redefined by a disturbing incident wherein Brinda is the victim of a molestation attempt. The episode profoundly shocks Tabbu, who has behaved negligently towards her sister. Their relationship becomes tender again and Brinda starts to finds solace in music. Eventually she becomes a skilled violinist. This progression also reinvigorates Vasanthi’s relationship with her daughter as she comes to see how every individual possesses unique talents.

A heart-warming movie which sensitively challenges a taboo familiar to many families in India and beyond.

A film dealing with the discrimination faced by the Dalit (‘untouchable’) population of India with reference to land rights. The land-related atrocities against the Dalits are probably as old as the relationship between the Dalit and the land. Over the years, thousands of Dalits have been exploited and sometimes even killed for land.

In this film, Joseph Bernard examines how land, including Panchami land and Boodhan land, is still being grabbed from the Dalits by the upper caste/class. The film also explores how the draconian land acquisition act of 1894 has been misused time and again causing great misery to the poor Dalit farmers. .

The film focuses on the people’s struggle and resistance. Social activist Medha Patkar, who famously protested against the acquisition of farmland, is invoked at the film’s conclusion with her tough stance on raising awareness: ‘Either in jail or out on the road… only people will get the message.’