Anubhav Sinha’s ‘Article 15’ to Open London’s Indian Film Festival (EXCLUSIVE)
By Stewart Clarke
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Anubhav Sinha’s “Article 15,” starring Ayushmann Khurrana, will have its world premiere at the 10th edition of the London Indian Film Festival. The opening night film and red carpet will take place at London’s Picturehouse Central.
Khurrana plays a police officer from a privileged background in “Article 15.” His first posting is to rural north India, where three teenage girls have gone missing.
The festival is the largest for South Asian film in Europe. It is supported by the Bagri Foundation and the British Film Institute. Ritesh Batra’s “Photograph,” starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, will be the closing night film and play at the BFI South Bank.
Relationship drama “Unsaid,” part of a Bengal-focused showcase, and Rima Das’ “Bulbul Can Sing,” part of the festival’s Young Rebel strand, are other highlights. Hindi martial arts hit “The Man Who Knew No Pain,” about Tamil pop culture in Mumbai, and which won the Midnight Madness Audience award in Toronto, will also play, as will Anand Patwardhan’s documentary “Reason.”
Special guests at the festival include “Sacred Games” director Anurag Kashyap, and Radhika Apte, star of Netflix’s Indian original Ghoul.” Gurinder Chadha will also attend to discuss her new film, “Blinded by the Light,” the Sundance hit about a British-Asian Bruce Springsteen fan.
“From the perspective of our 10th birthday, the festival has dynamically opened the U.K. mainstream media and audiences to Indian and South Asian independent cinema in all its linguistic diversity, and that’s something we are extremely proud of,” said festival director Cary Rajinder Sawhney. “Punching above our weight as always, this year is probably our strongest program ever.”
“We are delighted to join LIFF in celebrating its 10th anniversary of showcasing the best in South Asian independent cinema,” said Alka Bagri, trustee of the Bagri Foundation. “2019 significantly marks five years of our support enabling filmmakers to show the diversity and vibrancy of the subcontinent.”
The festival runs from June 20 to July 8. There are screenings across several U.K. cities as well as London.
