Abu Dhabi: Movie buffs at the seventh edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF), which begins here Oct 24, will be able to enjoy classics like `Pyaasa` and `Duvidha` from Indian cinema which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
“Celebrating Indian Cinema” is a select programme of some of the most admired films produced in a century of the $2 billion industry," read a statement on the ADFF official website.
Guru Dutt`s `Pyaasa`, which also featured in Time magazine`s 2005 list of All Time 100 Best Movies, will be screened at the gala. The movie narrates the story of a poet struggling to be recognised in post-independence India.
Ritwak Ghatak’s 1965 Bengali film `Subarnarekha` will be showcased as part of the programme while `Duvidha`, helmed by Ghatak`s student Mani Kaul in 1973, will also be shown to the audience at the international extravaganza which concludes Nov 2.
The programme includes `Garam Hava`, a 1974 movie which was also the Indian submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film category. It was directed by M.S. Sathyu. The film, about the plight of a Muslim family in post-partition India, is credited with being a pioneer of a new wave of Hindi art cinema.
Jahnu Barua`s Assamese film `Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai`, about a hardworking rice farmer`s life, is also a part of the special programme.
A total of nine Indian films will find screen space at the fest.
The line up includes Punjabi movie `Qissa` which is set in post-colonial India in 1947 and narrates the story of a Sikh who is forced to flee his village due to ethnic cleansing. Starring Irrfan Khan, it will have its Middle East premiere.
There will also be Marathi movie `Fandry` by Nagraj Manjule. The film zooms in on a story on India’s caste system.
Bengali filmmaker Aparna Sen`s `Goynar Baksho`, starring her daughter Konkona Sen Sharma, will have its Gulf premiere at ADFF, which will also screen Richie Mehta`s `Siddharth` about a poor Delhi street merchant desperately searching for his missing young son.