Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic’s much-awaited film with Emraan Hashmi in the lead titled Tigers, has been selected for its World Premiere at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival. Based on a true story, this hard-hitting thriller drama, produced by Prashita Chaudhary of Cinemorphic and Guneet Monga of Sikhya Entertainment, features Hashmi in his first international project and will premiere at 9:45 pm on September 8th, Scotiabank Theatre, Toronto.
Indian moviegoers first knew of Danis Tanovic as the man who beat Lagaan to the Oscars held in 2002. The Bosnian filmmaker’s breakthrough film, No Man’s Land, not only picked up the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, it also established Tanovic as one of the most exciting filmmakers in the world. His last film An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker won the Jury Grand Prix at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival last year.
Tigers, revolves around the story of a salesman Ayan, played by Emraan Hashmi, who after a lot of struggle secures a job with a prestigious multi-national corporation marketing infant formula milk, the artificial substitute for breast milk. Soon he discovers a big racket…The narrative then turns into a David versus Goliath story but will this underdog even get a chance to fight?
Says Danis: “Tigers is a project that I have been nurturing for many years. We started research on the film way back in 2006 and despite the challenges we never gave up. I believed that this story needed to be told and I’m very glad that in Emraan, Prashita and Guneet, I found partners who share the same thought and emotion.” Adds Producer Prashita Chaudhary, who has earlier co-produced Ari Folman’s festival favourite The Congress and continues to back the best of world cinema: ” I believe in world cinema and working with some of the best minds from across the globe. The story of Tigers really attracted me for its universal appeal. It is incredible how a complete foreigner like Danis has directed a film in Hindi bringing out the nuances of a completely different socio-economic milieu so beautifully. It’s a special film and I am glad we are premiering it at Toronto.”
For Producer Guneet Monga, Tigers is the latest success story, as she continues to be the face of alternative Indian cinema abroad. “It has been an arduous journey but this particular film is one that you cannot let go. It came to us at a critical juncture and we worked very hard to put together a team that Danis wanted. I’d like to thank him for his trust in us and Emraan for taking on this challenging yet extremely important role. The story is extraordinary and I’m elated that our collective effort is bearing fruit and that Tigers is now ready to travel the world.”
Tigers would see a very different Emraan Hashmi and the Bollywood superstar is well aware of it. “I am extremely happy that I could do this high concept film with a very strong connect to the larger world audience. Working with someone like Danis on my first international venture has been very exciting and now I have my fingers crossed on how the film will be received.”
Tigers will soon release in Indian theatres and worldwide.
