Sharmila Tagore and Soha Ali Khan, mother and daughter, will be attending the 1st Pravasi Film Festival in New Delhi in January, organised by the Mauritius High Commission and Pravasi Today magazine. The movie, Life Goes On, starring Sharmila and her daughter, will inaugurate the Festival. The story is a retelling of King Lear but with a more optimistic ending. Set in the UK amongst the British Indian community, it explores the cultural and generational clashes felt by many in the diaspora. “This is the first time Sharmila Tagore and Soha have shared screen space,” explains director Sangeeta Datta. “I have known Sharmila Tagore for a long time and from the very beginning I have imagined her in the character she is now playing.”
The Pravasi Film Festival will take place from the 3rd-6th January and will focus on the work of NRIs. Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta and Gurindher Chadha will all be in attendance, as well as Krishna Shah, suddenly in the news for his plans to make a movie about Indira Gandhi. It will feature such movies as New York, The President is Coming, 99 (which also stars Soha Ali Khan), the interesting American-made comedy Flavours about Indians in New York and the acclaimed lesbian love story When Kiran Met Karen with Chriselle Almeida
There’s also the unusual Bhavishya-The Future, starring Akansha Tyashi. This almost overlooked film is about the problems facing a young female doctor on a work placement to the UK’s National Health Service and the decisions she must make when her secondment runs out. The film also stars Saeed Jaffrey, who will pick up a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Festival for his work in promoting Indian culture overseas. “Using world cinema for the unification of the Indian diaspora is a bright idea,” says Anerood Jugnauth, the President of the island republic which is one of India‘s major investors, “Mauritius is all for this fest, since it is a prominent location for shooting Bollywood films.”
