Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; December 21, 2016)

Following the September 18 Uri attack, cultural exchange has been seriously hit. Right Wing parties refused to allow Bollywood film with Pak actors to release, and the annual Mumbai film festival dropped A J Kardar-directed Jago Hua Savera from its Restored Classics section.

However, things might just be cooling down. Hitlist has learnt that Pak docu maker Faisal Sayani’s Feica Vs Fecia has been selected for the 5th Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival, which kicks off tomorrow. Based on the life of veteran Pakistani cartoonist, Rafique Ahmad aka Feica, the film, he said, was an attempt at countering fanatic propaganda.

Sayani, who won’t be attending, said, “It was too short a period to acquire a visa for. The voice of the progressive liberal is fading in my country. I grew up observing a huge shift in society, once livable and progressive and now painfully intolerant and illogical. The attitude towards art, music and theatre has changed. [I wanted to propagate] Feica’s message: ‘You can live without art, but how wonderful is a life with art’.”

Riff Raff, a new wave Pak film, is also scheduled to be screened. Organiser Rambhul Singh said, “While I respect the sentiments of our country, ours is a platform to showcase indie cinema from all over the world.”