From staying in rooms that cost just Rs. 50 a night during his early visits to the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to returning to Goa years later for the premiere of his own film, actor Vijay Varma says his journey has come full circle. Speaking to us, Vijay recalls attending IFFI between 2005 and 2008 as part of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) tour.

“We used to stay in rooms that cost Rs. 50 per night and watch around four films a day. This is where I learnt about cinema,” he says, adding, “Going back to Goa for the premiere of my own film, Gustaakh Ishq, where I play the lead, truly feels like a full circle.”

Known for his intense roles in films and series, the actor also shared his thoughts on the growing OTT space.

“OTT is a win-win situation for both viewers and makers. When a new avenue opens up, it creates more opportunities, especially with streaming, which offers the freedom to tell stories that may not traditionally make it to the screen due to budget, subject or star power.”

He added that OTT platforms have ushered in a new wave of storytelling and audiences. “It has created a strong fandom and opened doors for actors, writers, directors and technicians alike. It’s truly beneficial for everyone involved,” said Vijay, who was recently seen in Gustaakh Ishq with Fatima Sana Shaikh.

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar feels that talent can emerge from any platform when it comes to showbiz—theatre, TV, OTT or films. “Also, if a filmmaker wants to narrate a story today, all they need to do is take out a mobile and create the entire narrative,” he adds. Speaking to us on the sidelines of the second edition of Symbiosis Film Festival, the Page 3 and Fashion director touched upon his style of filmmaking, Bollywood’s lack of conviction and more. Excerpts:

In the 2000s, Madhur’s brand of cinema was celebrated as raw and realistic. Ask him how his storytelling has evolved over the years and he says, “My storytelling hasn’t evolved at all. I’m still making what I used to make back in the 2000s. I always say that I am a storyteller, not a tech-savvy filmmaker. My movies are very grounded and my stories are basic, about everyday lives of people. It’s just that my films have aged well as I mainly focus on human dramas.”

The Babli Bouncer and India Lockdown filmmaker adds that human drama is something that will connect with you ‘even after 100 years’. “Technology will come and go, but the emotions or complexities of relationships will always be relevant no matter what the backdrop is, be it a corporate world, or politics, or even the film industry. My style is to make realistic cinema and I will continue to do so,” he says.

“Every five years, there is a major revamp in the film industry,” says the filmmaker, who will return to the big screen next year with The Wives. He feels that with OTT, a lot has changed. “The audience is now more aware of world cinema. As a result, Bollywood’s storytelling also has changed a lot. However, Bollywood lacks rawness and conviction. If tomorrow somebody narrates a story like Kantara to a Bollywood filmmaker, they will not be entertained,” opines Madhur.

Applauding Rishab Shetty for his vision, the Heroine filmmaker adds, “You can’t expect films like Pushpa, Kantara or RRR from Bollywood. Because Bollywood wants to play safe with tried and tested remakes of south Indian films. Actors ko original movie dikha denge, bol denge zyada mehnat nahi karni hai, yeh picture hai, South mein chal gayi yahan bhi chal jayegi. Despite this, in the last five years, most Hindi remakes of south films have flopped. There are so many stories in Bollywood that are waiting to be explored.”

His films have drawn contrasting opinions, and Madhur says he understands that. “There will always be people who liked something and others who didn’t like it. The reception of a film will never be unanimous,” he says, adding, “But, nowadays everyone is just picking films apart. Thanks to social media, everyone has a voice and now there is a lot more noise. Having said that, I care only about my audience. They are the reason I am where I am today.”

Madhur was at IFFI when the incident involving Ranveer Singh trying to mimic Rishabh Shetty’s Kantara performance happened. Sharing his stance on the controversy, he says, “I felt that he took it a little too far. That said, he owned up to it and apologised, which is commendable. I think he was praising the performance and got lost in the flow. In the process, he crossed a line.”

At the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, actor Ranveer Singh courted controversy when he mimicked daivas on stage. Now, Kantara actor-director Rishab Shetty has commented on the incident at an event in Chennai.

Without naming Ranveer, Rishab spoke on stage about how there’s always a risk when making a film like Kantara that culture and tradition may be reduced to pop culture. He stated that as a filmmaker, he took the guidance of several elders to ensure that everything was portrayed with respect.

He said that once a film releases, people tend to mimic it. “That makes me uncomfortable. While much of the film is cinema and performance, the daiva element is sensitive and sacred. Wherever I go, I request people not to perform it on stage or mock it. It is emotionally deeply connected to us”, said Rishab.

Controversy arose when Ranveer mimicked daivas while meeting Rishab at IFFI, ignoring his request not to. Ranveer later apologised on Instagram, saying he respected all cultures and traditions.

Suraj Sharma has always prioritised the quality of his work over volume. A choice reflected in his limited Indian projects so far. He has appeared in only two Hindi films: Phillauri (2017) and Gulmohar (2023), the latter winning Best Feature Film in Hindi at the National Film Awards.

Now, we’ve learnt that the actor is set for another India-based project, with an announcement likely as early as next year. Recently in Goa for the screening of his international film This Tempting Madness alongside Simone Ashley at the 56th International Film Festival of India, Sharma confirms that something is brewing.

“Yes, there are a few projects in the pipeline. Things are in the works, and I am looking forward to it. In an ideal world, if I could do at least a film in India every year, that would be a gem for me. Not just because of the industry, but because I miss being in India. I love working here and that’s important to me.”

When asked whether his next Indian outing will be a web project or a feature film like Phillauri, Sharma says the medium doesn’t matter: “The format for me is irrelevant. What matters is the story. The format is just a different way to present it to the audience, right? Also, the people involved... who am I working with? Is it a healthy, collaborative environment? And is the story something that tugs at my heartstrings? That’s what I’m usually running for.”

Right next to the parking lot at the IFFI (International Film Festival of India) venue in Goa – just past the security checkpoint – stands the Sholay motorcycle, displayed inside a glass enclosure. The iconic 1942 BSA WM20 is pulling more fans than the red-carpet this year. The motorcycle, which Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra rode through the Yeh Dosti song sequence, has been brought out of the archives by Karnataka’s Department of Information and Public Relations to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary, and cinephiles can’t get enough of it.

Cinephiles heading to screenings pause to pose beside the motorcycle, snapping photos of the registration plate – MYB 3047 from the erstwhile Mysore state. Most of them are heard asking the same questions: “Is this really the bike from Sholay ?”, “Does it still run?” and “Is it a replica?”

Replica or not (yes, it’s the real bike), very few installations across the festival grounds have drawn cinephiles at IFFI like this motorcycle. Following Dharmendra’s demise on November 25, more festival-goers have been flocking to see it.

Grace, a cinephile who went behind the motorcycle to get a shot with it, said, “If not for the Sholay poster, we would’ve walked right past it. It’s so iconic, I can’t believe it’s the same motorcycle. But I wish the sidecar was there too!” Another festivalgoer, Jacob Verghese, said, “No matter which generation you are from, you know the Yeh Dosti song. You know that bike. Seeing it here at IFFI is like a piece of movie history on display.”

The song Yeh Dosti was shot over 20 days. Director Ramesh Sippy and cinematographer Dwarka Divecha added a sidecar to the bike to emphasize the friendship and filmed the sequence with a 180-degree effect – making viewers feel as if they were riding with Jai and Veeru.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra watched the restored version of 1942: A Love Story with veteran screenwriter Kamna Chandra at IFFI, who has also written films like Chandni, and said, “Pehli baar 1942: A Love Story maine aisi dekhi hai jaisa maine socha tha. Uss waqt colour correction hota nahi tha.” 

A day later, during a session titled Unscripted - The Art and Emotion of Filmmaking, Vidhu Vinod Chopra spoke about his films, struggles and with his long time collaborator Abhijat Joshi.

When Abhijat Joshi asked him how his filmmaking style has changed over the last five decades, he said that 1942: A Love Story he can’t make the film now.

He said, “I saw it yesterday for the first time in 8K resolution in the theatre here. But that’s a movie I can’t make anymore. I made it then because I was in love with the woman I married, and that love shows in the movie. For an artist, the right thing is to represent what he’s going through in his work. So my films reflect what I see and feel (at that point) in life. Every film reflects who I am at that point. I was angry when I made Parinda. You can see that violence in the movie. Today I’m calmer.”

He added, “So that film was made at that time because that is who I was. And 12th Fail… when I see the level of corruption in our system, it was a reaction to that. Because, you know, I am personally sick and tired of the level of corruption. I’m sure everybody is trying to make sure that it calms down a bit. But 12th Fail was my attempt at saying, ‘Let’s be honest for a change’. I told Abhijat when I made the film - even if I can convert 1% population, 1% bureaucracy, 1% political system to work honestly instead of dishonestly, I would have succeeded. I react to times. An artist is not independent of the times he lives in. I’m a reflection of society. What I see, my cinema says that, and it says it in that particular style. You cannot impose the Parinda style on 12th Fail or 1942.”

When someone from the audience said she doesn’t understand when people ask her to think commercially about a story, he responded, “How to make the film commercially - even I don’t understand what that means. Meri jo dharmpatni hai, woh jaanti hai cinema ke baare mein. Unhone kaha - ‘Vinod, tu theatre mein mat laga 12th Fail. Teri aur Vikrant ki film dekhne koi nahi jayega.’ Saat mahine tak film theatre mein thi.”

Sharing an incident about how an OTT platform refused to buy 12th Fail, he said, “One of them said - ‘aise log toh ab hain hi nahi.’ Maine kaha - ‘ek toh tumhare saamne hai, main toh hoon.’”

Giving parting advice to the FTII students who were sharing their difficulties, he recited a line from a song in 1942, “Ye safar bahut hai kathin magar… na udaas ho mere humsafar.”

“When Parinda was to be released, all the distributors got together and brought 11 lakhs in cash. They said, ‘We will give you 11 lakhs,’ at a time when I didn’t have money to eat dinner. And they said, ‘Please don’t kill Anil and Madhuri; kill Jackie Shroff. And we will give you 11 lakhs.’ And I said, I can’t do that, because what I’m saying in the film is that violence begets violence. So I cannot change that.”

“There’s a shot - when Manisha is running - kyun naye lag rahe hain ye dharti gagan. When you see this shot, you will see that she is running on a mountaintop, and there are birds on top. Those birds are not digital. There were no birds on that mountain. And I wanted birds. I said, I want the sky full of birds. They said birds don’t come that high. Sanjay Leela Bhansali was my assistant on that film. I said, I need birds. Those guys went at night and spread breadcrumbs on that mountaintop. Because of those breadcrumbs, the birds came. When I saw the birds yesterday, I said, ‘My God. Birds.’ That’s the level of pursuit of excellence. And those birds give me so much joy, 35 years later. It moves me how hard we worked. That is the joy of life.”

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"If I say I have 20 crore now, tomorrow I’ll have 200 crore and I will make a film - what joy is there in that? Beyond your basic needs, money is the same. It’s the same cup of tea I’m drinking that I drank 35 years back. The point is - if the pursuit of excellence drives you then there is joy."

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“The joy comes from honesty, in whatever you’re doing - whether you’re a filmmaker, a writer, a politician, a bureaucrat. The joy comes from honestly pursuing whatever you’re pursuing. So I would request all of you- it’s difficult, but it’s a very happy path. Take it.”

Fans of Sholay will have to wait longer to watch the remastered version of the iconic 1975 classic, originally scheduled for a special screening at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). HT City has learnt that the screening has now been called off. The cancellation comes at a time when fans are already grieving the loss of its beloved star Dharmendra. The veteran actor, who played Veeru in Sholay, died on November 24 at the age of 89.

An official source tells us that the screening was scrapped due to “technical glitches from the makers’ side.” Director Ramesh Sippy and actor Hema Malini were expected to walk the red carpet for the event. However, with Dharmendra’s deteriorating health over the past few weeks, Hema’s appearance was already uncertain. Many had, in fact, initially attributed this as the reason for the screening not happening.

The film’s 4K version will release in theatres on December 12. Meanwhile, Ramesh Sippy’s session on 50 years of Sholay will take place as scheduled at the festival.

From picking up an audience member’s call in the middle of his session to going around the auditorium and asking people what they would call their biopic, actor Anupam Kher’s masterclass on ‘Giving Up Is Not A Choice’ at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) had something in store for each person present.

The actor shared some personal anecdotes, all in sync with the topic. For example, in his debut film Saaransh (1984), he was replaced even before the shoot started! “I had prepped for months, and asked Mahesh Bhatt,‘Why did you cast me?’ He replied, ‘Bald hai na!’ because the character required an old man. Later, I was told I have been replaced by Sanjeev Kumar. I got so angry… maine Mahesh Bhatt ko jaakar bola ‘aap duniya ke number one fraud ho. Main brahmin hoon, main aapko shraap deta hoon!’ I packed my luggage, and stormed off downstairs. Upar se Mahesh ji ne awaaz maari ‘vaapis aaja’! I did this because giving up was just not a choice for me.”

Further, recalling when Hollywood actor Robert De Niro, ‘God of acting’ for him, threw Anupam out during a heated scene in Silver Linings Playbook (2012). After waiting outside in the cold for 45 minutes, he confronted director David O Russell over his character’s treatment. Later, the scene was revised with De Niro supporting his view.

“Today I feel proud that I can call Mr Robert De Niro one of my friends. I did all that on the shoot day because giving up was not a choice,” he concluded.

Throughout the course of this year, several actors have secured protection for their personality rights from AI-generated impersonation. But when Shekhar Kapur consulted his lawyer about claiming rights over a dialogue from one of his films, the outcome was different. “I wanted to copyright the dialogue ‘Mogambo khush hua’ (from Mr India ), but I was told that the court would have granted protection of this dialogue to Amrish Puri. It’s the actor’s copyright,” he told the audience during a session at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

The IFFI Director, who is making an AI-driven film titled Warlord , spoke about celebrity personality rights and what AI can and cannot do during a conversation with Berlin International Film Festival chief Tricia Tuttle at the festival. Excerpts:

​Discussing the possibilities and the limits of AI, Kapur explained that he can tell when a script has been written by it. He recalled his cook using ChatGPT to write a script for Mr India 2, saying, “He came to me with so much enthusiasm. I genuinely didn’t know what to appreciate first – the meal he had cooked or the script he had written.”

When an audience member pointed out that it was possible to generate the script only because the original exists, Shekhar responded that influence is natural. “It took me ten years to write this script, and it takes ten days to do it with AI tools,” he said, adding, “I know that I am better than ChatGPT.”

During the audience interaction, questions around plagiarism and ethics came up. Kapur said, “AI is not magic. It’s not chaos. It’s changed. But real storytelling is unpredictable. AI cannot predict the future; it can only imitate the past. Plagiarism, with or without AI, comes from creative laziness. Emotional storytelling will always reveal the human behind the work.”

While working on a film that uses AI, Kapur also described the limitations he has encountered. He emphasized that the energy of collaboration and the presence of great actors are irreplaceable. “It’s unpredictable – the unpredictability of the moment actually happens when everybody is working together. There’s an electric atmosphere that is created between, say, me and my DOP Rand, and Cate Blanchett (on the set of Elizabeth). I don’t think AI, yet, can do what Cate Blanchett can do.”

He added, “If you have Cate Blanchett or Shabana Azmi, there are variations of expressions and emotions that they bring (which are captured in a close-up). There is an interesting thing that we are looking at right now – the close-up. That’s where AI has a problem, because we don’t even scientifically understand how the pupil works. So when a great actor comes on screen, with amazing eyes – be it Cate or Shabana or Brad Pitt – something happens. A connection is formed quite subconsciously between the actor and the audience. And that’s why the close-up works so well. AI can’t do that yet.”

Having one’s movie screened at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is a matter of pride and joy. Filmmaker Ananth Narayan Mahadevan had hoped to experience it with Phule, his biopic on social reformer Jyotirao Phule. But as the upcoming film festival unveiled its schedule, the director is disheartened that his Pratik Gandhi and Patralekhaa-starrer has not made the cut.

“I feel angry, pained, and helpless. A government-sponsored festival like IFFI sidelined Phule, despite it being an honest film with credible actors,” he tells mid-day.

The movie, released on April 25, chronicled how the social reformer and his wife Savitribai fought casteism and championed women’s education in the 19th century. What stings Mahadevan further is that Homebound, which explores casteism prevalent in the country today, has been selected as India’s official entry to the Academy Awards 2026 while his casteism drama has been “silently boycotted”. 

“Phule was not selected for the Oscars either. This is the original caste revolution that happened in India. I haven’t seen Homebound, but I know it’s about caste differences today. When you have cinema of a scale like that of Phule, including solid performances and the relevance of [its subject] to contemporary times, it [being overlooked] is sad. I feel some kind of silent boycott is happening. If it was a bad film, I’d understand. But considering the kind of films that have been selected at IFFI, it’s disheartening. There are 26 films in the Indian Panorama section. Are you saying it does not deserve a chance among 26 movies?”

During the Independence Day celebrations this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government will mark Phule’s 200th birth anniversary in 2027 with special events. Pleased as he is that the social reformer’s contributions continue to reverberate in society even today, the director is saddened that his big-screen story didn’t get as much support.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the bicentenary, but not once when the film was released. He could have supported it by making it tax-free. Not a single state government gave Phule a tax-free status. The producers had applied for it and were promised, but it didn’t come true.”

Known to advocate for animal welfare, actor and producer John Abraham is now fighting for animal rights in the language he knows best — cinema. He has thrown his weight behind director Isha Pungaliya’s documentary, Oslo: A Tail Of Promise, which will première at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, this month. At a time when the Supreme Court of India has ordered the removal of stray dogs from public spaces, and their vaccination and sterilisation before being sent to shelters, this film offers a profound message — adopt, don’t shop.

It’s a message that resonates with environment educator Pooja R Bhale, who is at the centre of Oslo: A Tail Of Promise. The docu traces how Oslo, a Siberian Husky, entered Bhale’s life as a traumatised puppy and supported her when Mahua, an indie dog, fell ill.

“I believe Oslo adopted me rather than me adopting him,” she says, before adding, “This film exists because Oslo changed my life. In sharing that truth, I hope more people understand that the greatest companionship you will ever have will be with an animal you give a home to.”

For director Pungaliya, the film was a means to focus “on our relationships with the greater world and not just human narratives."