For Uri: The Surgical Strike, Yami Gautam draws references from Jessica Chastain's performance in Zero Dark Thirty
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 21, 2018)

Set to feature as an intelligence officer in Aditya Dhar's Uri: The Surgical Strike, Yami Gautam drew inspiration from American actor Jessica Chastain, who essayed a similar role in Zero Dark Thirty (2012).

The actor, who counts the Kathryn Bigelow-directed thriller — which chronicled the story of the CIA's decade-long manhunt for Osama Bin Laden — among her most revered films, tells mid-day, "Jessica was at her best in the movie. So, watching it and noticing the nuances that the role demands, [was a learning experience]. Physical factors, such as the voice and body language, matter when playing an intelligence officer. Her character was truly inspirational. Watching her helped me before I began shooting for Uri."

Based on the 2016 surgical strikes by the Indian Army in retaliation to the attacks by Pakistan on unarmed Indian military persons, the film features Vicky Kaushal in the lead. Gautam chopped off her long tresses to adopt a serious look, in keeping with her character.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 4, 2017)

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 22, 2017)

Ali Fazal’s new film, the Brit-American dramedy Victoria & Abdul, has launched him into quite the jet-setting life.

After screenings at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, the Stephen Frears directorial, which the 30-year-old actor headlines alongside Judi Dench, is currently in Los Angeles for its American premiere.

Ali recently bumped into Hollywood actors Jessica Chastain and Sam Rockwell. “We were at the Variety studio where Jessica Chastain was promoting Aaron Sorkin’s Molly’s Game, while Sam Rockwell was there with Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. We grabbed a snack and chatted about our respective films.

We hadn’t seen each other’s projects but they knew about Victoria & Abdul and were excited about it,” says Ali, adding that he had loved Rockwell in Martin McDonagh’s 2012 black comedy Seven Psychopaths while Chastain’s 2012 American political action-thriller Zero Dark Thirty, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, is one of his favourite films.

“She has done so much good work. I’ve also seen the video release of her play with Al Pacino which I loved. I told her I admire her work and that it was really nice to be able to tell her that,” Ali smiles at the memory, and the fact that they have all been bumping into each other since Venice.

Ali also utilised the opportunity to share notes on Chastain’s director Sorkin, whose work he admires. “He has created some iconic stuff including The Newsroom. They told me to just have fun as, obviously, it is my first time here, which they said I will always remember. It was really sweet,” Ali says, adding that all the globe-trotting has left him slightly homesick. “I return to Delhi on September 27, after which I will head straight to Varanasi to shoot for a show.”

Anupama Chopra (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 24, 2017)

The 70th Cannes Film Festival has all the ingredients of a great film — beauty and drama, emotion and magic, a bomb threat and even a tragic, unexpected death.

First the numbers — the 10-day festival, which kicked off on May 17, had 61 films in the official selection. There were new movies from some of the world’s great auteurs, including Michael Haneke, Bong Joon Ho and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The main competition section featured 19 films (including three by women directors). Iconic Spanish director Pedro Almodovar presided over the competition jury, which included South Korean director Park Chanwook, Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain and Hollywood superstar Will Smith.

Hundreds of films — in the official selection and the Cannes market — were devoured by over 25,000 film professionals and 3000-odd journalists. In snaking queues and over-filled bars, the merits of each title were debated. But beyond the movies, there was another topic of conversation — Netflix.

This was the first year that the festival selected two titles by the streaming giant — Bong Joon-ho’s Okja and Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories. The Netflix model of streaming films without a theatrical window puts it at odds with the global theatre establishment here, specifically with French exhibitors. In response to the loud protest (Christophe Tardieu, director of the French National Cinema Center described Netflix as ‘the perfect representation of American Cultural imperialism’), the festival introduced a new rule starting next year - All competition titles will have to commit to a theatrical release in France. But the two Netflix titles remain in the race for the prestigious Palme d’Or.

The first screening of Okja had to be stopped because of a technical malfunction — the first I’ve experienced in several years of coming to the festival. There was loud booing when the Netflix logo appeared onscreen. The cast, headlined by Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal, found themselves fielding questions about the definition of cinema. Almodovar added fuel to the fire by declaring at the jury press conference that he didn’t think a film which would never release in a theatre deserved to win the Palme d’Or.

Sadly, in this landmark anniversary year, the Indian presence was negligible — at least in the official selection. Only one Indian film was deemed good enough to participate.

FTII student Payal Kapadia’s Afternoon Clouds, about an elderly woman who lives with her Nepali maid, was among the 16 films showing in the student film section, Cinefondation. In the last five years, India had made some inroads into the festival so its near total absence was a major disappointment — clearly our films aren’t meeting the festival’s quality standards.

But our industry was everywhere. Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor walked the red carpet. A R Rahman and Shruti Haasan were there for the launch of Sangamithra – a two-part, Baahubaliesque fantasy epic. Tiger Shroff was there for the launch of his Rambo remake. Madhu Chopra was networking to spread word about the Sikkimese film Priyanka and she are producing – Pahuna. Nandita Das and Nawazuddin Siddiqui were promoting their new project Manto.



According to the NFDC market guide, over 80 Indian companies had representatives at Cannes. For India, Cannes is still a marketing and networking platform. But if we wish to be serious players at one of the world’s biggest cinema platforms, our films will have to make a bigger impact than our camera friendly, red carpet-ready stars.

Of course the Cannes red carpet is among the most celebrated in the world. This year, the added security gave it even more drama. On opening night, women in expensive designer gowns had their voluminous trains scanned by guards. Getting into a film required two bag checks and two body scans. One morning, as I stood in the queue, I overheard a woman complaining that security guards were even confiscating cough drops. On the fourth day of the festival, there was a bomb scare and a theatre had to be evacuated.

Two days before that, the deputy director of the Busan Interntional Film Festival suffered a massive heart attack and died in Cannes. At an official dinner held for visiting festival heads and programmers, guests toasted Kim Ji-Seok, who was among the founding members of Asia’s biggest festival.

Cannes Festival president, Pierre Lescure, spoke about the passion for cinema that drives film festivals around the world. This passion is the throbbing heart of Cannes. The impossibly glamorous South of France location, the staggering beauty displayed on the red carpet every evening, the designer stores dotting the landscape, the swanky yachts and helicopters are merely peripherals. Cannes is a celebration of cinema unlike any other. As AR Rahman put it — happy accidents happen here! I can’t wait to return.