Bombay to Goa

Delhi is turning a pretty shade of emerald in envy as it watches Bollywood romancing the 35th International Film Festival of India with abandon. Siri Fort looks on forlornly, its auditoriums empty of the annual visitations of film buffs and directors, some of them in monkey caps to ward off the winter chill. No such problem in sunny Panjim, where the sound of the Arabian Sea is never too far away. Just pour yourself into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and grab a seat.

Meanwhile, Bollywood has discovered the film festival. In the Delhi avatar of the festival, one star or the other from Mumbai, may have deigned to fly down, light an inaugural lamp and pose languidly for media cameras. In the Panjim avatar, all of Bollywood seems to have packed its bags and descended in a rush. Grand old thespians, riding a second wind, super-super stars unveiling health campaigns, showmen with their special spiel for a release in the pipeline, elusive actors with their even-more-elusive partners. They were all there, and how. Hey, say the killjoys, but this is supposed to be an international film festival, not a Bollywood one. Who cares, roars Bollywood, which has always worn its adoration of Goa on its sleeve — right from the days of Bombay to Goa through Bobby to Dil Chahta Hai. Besides, Panjim is just a hop away from amchi Mumbai, innit?

Once this is all over, the inevitable questions will raise their head. Aren’t international film festivals events to showcase the best of critically acclaimed world cinema? Aren’t they meant to encourage best practices and techniques in Indian filmmaking? Surely Indian cinema is not just Hindi cinema, which is being so exuberantly showcased in this festival? Can an attractive venue, with its endless stretches of beachfront, make for a Cannes? Is Cannes just about locale? The questions will multiply with every passing day, as the Pro-Panjim and Anti-Panjim forces take their positions. Yes, the inevitable debate on the festival will soon be upon us. But, in the meanwhile, do what the Bollywoodians do: Enjoy!