Filmmaker Shlok Sharma receiving an award in 2015 for his film Haraamkhor

MUMBAI MIRROR (September 19, 2018)

India’s biggest film festival, the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Slowly becoming the world’s gateway to the best of Indian cinema, the festival announced its line-up for the prestigious India Gold section — the exclusive competition category for latest Indian films from across the country.

A platform that premiered breakout films like Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court, Gurvinder Singh’s Chauthi Koot, Raam Reddy’s Thithi, Rima Das’ Village Rockstars, Shlok Sharma’s Haraamkhor and Avinash Arun’s Killa, Jio MAMI with Star will premiere nine top-of-the-line Indian Films in competition this year. This includes three world premieres with Ridham Janve’s The Gold-Laden Sheep And The Sacred Mountain, Aadish Keluskar’s Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil and Vinit Chandrasekharan’s Buddha. One Indian title, Dominic Sagma’s MA•AMA, is also in the International Competition section that focuses on debut filmmakers from across the world.

The selection this year spans multiple states and languages including Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali and Gaddi. The edition also marks the return of a host of creators from the Jio MAMI with Star family. Kannada drama Balekempa is the directorial debut of Ere Gowda (co-writer of Raam Reddy’s Thithi which played in the International Competition section in 2015), Aadish Keluskar (his Kaul won the Young Critics Choice Award in 2015) returns to the competition section with his latest Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil and Rima Das returns with her third feature Bulbul Can Sing — a coming of age tale and her third consecutive feature at the festival after Man With The Binoculars (2016) and Village Rockstars (2017).

Apart from world premieres and latest films from MAMI alumni creators, the selection also has current festival favourites (Indian titles that have travelled far and wide, making waves at festivals around the world this year) — Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s (Labour Of Love) — new film Jonaki (World Premiered at IFFR this year) and filmmaker Ivan Ayr’s Soni (World Premiered at Venice International Film Festival this year).

Kerala State Film Award winner Light In The Room from Rahul Riji Nair is also in the selection as is Kabir Chowdhry’s quasi-documentary Mehsampur.

The India Gold films will be watched by a Jury of esteemed film personalities from around the world. The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star this year will take place between October 25 to November 1.

Films in INDIA GOLD

Balekempa | Dir Ere Gowda | India | 2018| 103 mins

Buddha | Dir Vinit Chandrasekharan | India | 2018 | 100 mins

Bulbul Can Sing | Dir Rima Das | India | 2018 | 90 mins

Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil | Dir Aadish Keluskar | India | 2018 | 105 mins

Jonaki | Dir Aditya Vikram Sengupta | India | 2018 | 95 mins

Light In The Room | Dir Rahul Riji Nair | Malayalam | 97 mins

Mehsampur | Dir Kabir Chowdhry | Indian | 2018 | 99 mins

Soni | Dir Ivan Ayr | India | 2018 | 97 mins

The Gold-Laden Sheep and The Sacred Mountain | Dir Ridham Janve | India | 2018 | 97 mins


Filmmaker Rima Das won the top prize in India Gold section last year for Village Rockstars, presented by Deepika Padukone, who is a member of the festival board


A still from Das’s Bulbul Can Sing, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this month. Its India premiere is slated for Jio MAMI with Star 201