We earlier told you that Haider produced by UTV Motion Pictures and VB Pictures won the ‘People’s Choice Award’ in the Mondo Genre
(World Genre) at the Rome Film Festival. Now we have more about win and quotes from Shahid and director Vishal Bhardwaj.
The Mondo Genre had a selection of feature films of young or already successful directors this year and the festival gave priority to films that are world premieres. The movies selected were from countries like Italy, USA, Brazil and France. Out of the seven films that featured under this genre, Haider was the only Asian film selected across the globe.
“Haider is a classic Shakespearean tale retold with Kashmir in India as its backdrop, it’s a story that we would like to take to the world and to get this award now is a proud moment for the entire team of Haider,” says Director Vishal Bhardwaj.
“I am fortunate to get a chance to be a part of this breakthrough movie, it was one of the most difficult roles for me and I am ecstatic with the positive reviews and audience feedback Haider has received. It’s a moment of immense pride that the movie has got this award at the festival,” says Shahid Kapoor who plays the titular role of Haider.
This is the first time that an Indian film won the Audience Award in a non -specialized (non-focused on Asian Cinema) wide-ranging international festival. After winning hearts across India, the movie continues to woo audiences across the globe. Winning the ‘People’s Choice Award’ is truly prestigious as it’s one of the most unbiased awards since its chosen by the audiences and Haider was clearly the choice of the people. This is a huge honour for the Film as well as the country.
In the past the ‘People’s Choice Award’ at The Rome Film Festival was won ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ in 2013 and ‘The Motel Life’ in 2012.
“This is a huge achievement for the film and a matter of pride for India. Haider has been awarded with the Peoples choice award in the ‘Mondo genre’ of the Rome Film Festival. It truly affirms our belief that good cinema can transcend boundaries and this award puts Haider on the global map. After the overwhelming wave of appreciation in India now Haider embarks on it’s global journey with this feat,” says Amrita Pandey, VP & Head of Marketing and Distribution – Studios, Disney India.
Along with Haider other films selected at the festival included films like Gone Girl by David Fincher starring Ben Affleck. The Knick by Steven Soderbergh starring Clive Owen, Black and White by Mike Binder starting Kevin Costner, Still Alice by Richard Glatzer starring Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart and Alec Baldwin, Night Crawler by Dan Gilroy starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jia Zhangke, UN Gars De Fenyang by Walter Salles, Time Out of Mine by Oren Moverman starring Richard Gere, Stonehearst Asylum by Richard Anderson starring Kate Beckinsale and Ben Kingsley among several others.
Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, Haider is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, set in the backdrop of the beautiful Kashmir and stars Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Tabu, Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan. The movie saw a worldwide release on Oct 2nd, 2014 and its Rome premiere on October 24th. With this movie the much-admired filmmaker completes his Shakespearean trilogy.
