Just when world cinema aficionados thought that it was 'The End' for the Mumbai Film Festival organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), there has been a dramatic change in the story's climax. The week-long, much-anticipated annual event will take place on schedule (beginning October 14) thanks to a successful initiative aimed at getting donations from corporates, cine enthusiasts and the film fraternity.

The line-up of films and dignitaries will be unveiled on September 17 which means that the campaign to raise funds will come to a close on the September 8. According to the organising committee, Rs 1.5 crore of the Rs 5 crore has already been raised in just three days.

When Reliance was backing the festival, the budget was around Rs 6.13 crores but that has now been sized down. Sanjeev Lamba, CEO, Reliance Entertainment, was in the US, and could not be reached for a comment on why the company decided to not renew the sponsorship contract for the 2014 edition. But the organisers have found an unexpected corporate backer in Anand Mahindra's newly founded production company which has contributed the highest amount so far ­ a sum of Rs 60 lakh.

Mahindra learnt about the financial crisis through social media. “A couple of people tweeted to me and suggested I get involved,“ he told Mirror. “I spoke to my partner and colleague Rohit Khattar who agreed with me that long-term sustenance could not be guaranteed by just one corporate sponsor. The idea is to make it a festival owned by Mumbai's studios and the many film enthusiasts. This is why we've made a pledge and appealed for a wider movement to gather support.“ When asked if this is a branding exercise for his newly-floated production house, he denied it vehemently, saying, “No, of course it isn't. We're a fledgling studio and there is no project we're trying to publicize. If branding was the objective, a full sponsorship would have been a better route.“ However, Mahindra adds that his support to the festival would depend on how this year's edition fares and whether this campaign gathers momentum and fulfills its objective.


Manish Mundra, the producer of last year's indie drama, Ankhon Dekhi, has also chipped in a sizeable Rs 50 lakh. “It is appalling that a city with such a vibrant cinematic culture like Mumbai can't afford to put together a film festival. As a producer, it is my duty to extend financial support to keep MAMI alive,“ he said from Dubai on phone.

Film critic Anupama Chopra, along with her filmmaker-husband Vidhu Vinod Chopra, has contributed Rs 11 lakh after hearing that the festival is on its deathbed. “I immediately called up Srinivasan Narayanan (Festival Director) and offered to pitch in. All international festivals abroad are backed by major corporate houses and that's a culture we need here as well,“ says Anupama. “Crowdfunding may work for MAMI this year but it cannot be a permanent solution.“

When we pointed this out, Narayanan assured that a 10-year business plan has been chalked out and it will be implemented in November for next year's edition. “We will make cine lovers and the filmmaking fraternity the owners of the festival from 2015 so that we won't have to depend on one sponsor. We are happy to be able to hold the festival as scheduled,“ he told Mirror.

To honour this year's saviours, the festival's poster will have the names of all the contributors who have pledged more than Rs 10 lakh.“Their names will be prominent on the hoardings,“ said Srinivasan.

Rajkumar Hirani, Hansal Mehta and producers of the Marathi film Fandry, Vivek Kajaria and Nilesh Navlakha, are also among the contributers.

To donate, log on to: savemumbaifilmfest.org