Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan arrived in Cannes to attend the International Film Festival much to the excitement of the Indian contingent. He is attending Cannes to participate in Eros International‘s 30th anniversary and for the screening of his new movie Cheeni Kum that is set to release on May 25th.
R Balki directs Cheeni Kum, and it is the first feature film for this director who worked in advertising for 17 years. On directing a feature film for the first time Balki said, “There is no real difference between a feature film and an ad film. Both hinge on an idea, only that in the case of a feature you have to sustain your interest in that idea over a far longer period. An ad film typically requires two to four months of ideation and four to five days of shooting. A feature film obviously takes much more time.”
At the premiere of Cheeni Kum, the audience gave Bachchan a standing ovation. The film struck an instant chord with the audience and is said to be a finely crafted well directed film. It is a romantic comedy of a 64-year-old man falling in love with 34-year-old woman played by Tabu. Both Bachchan and Tabu were whom the director had in mind for the roles and he has said that he would not have made the film without them. The film also stars Zohra Segal and Paresh Rawal.
About the festival, Bachchan said, “I feel great to be here. The buzz being generated by our cinema is palpable. Cannes is internationally famous for marketing films all over the world. It is wonderful to find Indian cinema here as well.”
