Indo-Asian News Service
July 21, 2007 Saturday 3:13 PM EST
Bollywood stars sizzle at Osian’s, ‘Rammi’ gets mixed response
Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi
New Delhi, July 21 — It was a mixed bag on the opening day of the
9th Osian’s-Cinefan festival. Three Bollywood beauties added a touch
of glamour to the proceedings after which the opening film "Raami"
was screened to a mixed response from the audience.
Bollywood stars Manisha Koirala, Gul Panag and Divya Dutta set the
red carpet on fire at the opening function at the Siri Fort auditorium
late Friday.
Manisha, whose grandmother passed away recently, said she was feeling
"quite lost now". Sporting an exquisite white salwar kameez, the actor
was mobbed by the media, till colleague Rajit Kapoor came to her rescue
– all of which only added to delaying the start of the opening film.
Panag wore a beautiful pastel shade evening dress and carried an
embellished handbag. The "Dor" girl, sporting a butterfly tattoo
on her back, said: "I want every film of mine to take me to another
level. I want to be in the industry for a long time." Panag said she
has four films set for release this year.
Divya Dutta looked slimmer than ever. The Punjabi beauty looked
gorgeous in a new hair cut and a white sari, making the shutterbugs
go wild. She said: "This (Osian’s) is a great platform for promoting
cinema, especially the ones that cannot make it big commercially.
Anurag Kashyap goes unspotted
The opening ceremony was about to start, Divya Dutta had already
walked the red carpet and as the media stood waiting to pounce
on Gul Panag and Manisha Koirala, somebody walked past quietly –
and went by unnoticed! It was acclaimed director Anurag Kashyap of
"Black Friday" fame.
Possibly for many Kashyap – unshaven and wearing a grey T-shirt
– was not a priced byte. Some may have even not recognised the
talented writer-director but IANS had a word with him. "I will be
here throughout the festival. I’m a jury member. It’s very good that
filmmakers are finding a platforms like Osian’s," he said.
Opening film ‘Raami’ gets a mixed response
Osian’s kick started with "Raami", based on the folk tale of two lovers
Asli and Karam, told through song. The Iran-Azerbaijan co-production
deals with man’s relationship with nature, war and music.
"Raami" narrates the story of a middle-aged Azerbaijani folk composer
who has spent 10 years in a war refugee camp, how he goes back looking
for his Armenian wife and child after the conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan.
The 76-minute film, directed by Babak Shirinsefat, evoked mixed
response from the audience. Some thought it was confusing and slow
while others loved the intense and emotional plot.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from Indo-Asian News
Service.