TIFF 2012 Wishlist

I am waiting with anticipation for this morning's press conference for TIFF2012, so thought perhaps I should make a list of what I hope I'm going to see amongst the announcements:

 

1.  Gangs of Wasseypur Parts 1 and 2

It's no secret that director Anurag Kashyap is a favorite around these parts.  I've seen all his films, and it's been killing me that I've yet to see Gangs of Wasseypur 1, even as they're gearing up for the release of Part 2 in India.  So I would love to see both parts come to TIFF.  Both parts showed at Cannes (Un Certain Regard), and Part 1 is releasing in France this week, so here's the trailer for the French release, with subtitles:

 

 

 

2.  Miss Lovely 

Ashim Ahluwalia's film was screened in the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes this year, and features Nawazzudin Siddiqui, (who has become a pretty hot property in the last few months -- he's also in Gangs of Wasseypur) and Anil George as two Ramsey-like brothers who work in the C movie industry, making pulpy, soft-porn laced horror pictures.

 

 

3.  Aiyya

Aiyya is directed by Sachin Kundalkar, but it's produced by Totally Filmi Casa Fave Anurag Kashyap.  It is, of course, the Bollywood debut of Malayalam cinema star Prithviraj, pairing him with another Casa Fave, the delectable Rani Mukherjee.  I sort of thought this would be a good bet for TIFF, but now I'm not so sure -- apparently the original release date of September 28th has been pushed back, and the film is now supposed to release the end of October.  So, although I would adore to see this at TIFF, I'm sort of suspecting it might not be ready (even if it were a candidate).  No trailer, because one hasn't been released yet.

 

4.  Talaash

I adored director Rima Kagti's first film, Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, and have been really looking forward to Talaash,  which stars festival favorite Aamir Khan, along with Rani Mukherjee and Kareena Kapoor (not to mention that hot fave, Nawazzudin Siddiqui.  But the film's release is currently in a bit of limbo, and it's not certain the film will be finished in time for TIFF.  I'm crossing my fingers though -- I would so love to see it in this year's line-up.

 

5.  Heroine

Director Madhur Bhandarkar is set to bring us the behind-the-scenes story of a Bollywood superstar heroine, played by Kareena Kapoor.  I think it's a good bet to show at TIFF -- perhaps in the City-to-City category, because Bhandarkar is no stranger to films set in Mumbai (this year's featured city).  Chandi Bar featured Tabu as a woman who ends up working in the city's dance bars; Page 3 has the delightful Konkona Sen Sharma as a young woman who comes to Mumbai to work as a journalist, and who ends up covering celebrities on the titular Page 3;  Traffic Signal documents the lives of people who live around a traffic signal in Mumbai.  

(And I just had to edit this post to add in the just-released Heroine trailer.  I would totally not be unhappy to see this at TIFF2012):

 

 

 

6.  Peddlers

This is another film that was screened at Cannes (International Critics week), and I, for one, am dying to see Vasan Bala's directorial debut.  It's another City-to-City candidate, as it's the story of two young guys who fall into Mumbai's drug trade and the cop who stalks them.  It's also another Anurag Kashyap production (and yes, I'm as interested in what he produces as in what he makes himself).

 

 

7.  Life of Pi

Ang Lee's adapation of Yann Martel's novel -- and yes, I want to see it for a number of reasons, but mostly because the adult Pi is played by Irrfan Khan, and also because Pi's mother is played by Tabu.  I'm also curious about Suraj Sharma's debut performance as Pi.

 

8.  Midnight's Children

When I first read Salman Rushdie's epic book about partition, I adored it.  When I first heard it was going to be made into a film, I wondered how it could be possible.  I can't wait to find out if Deepa Mehta will succeed in bringing it to the big screen.  But the cast list is delicious, and I think it's probably a safe bet to say this will be a big film at this year's TIFF.

 

 

 

Comments

[Maxqnz]

Thank you so much for this list! There are a couple of films on your list that I'm also really looking forward to, Heroine and Talaash. Mostly, though, I wam grateful for your mentioing Midnight's Children, reminmding me that i's one of those "why haven't I read this yet?" books, and prompting me to correct that as soon as possible. That way, I'll be in a positrion to see if Mehta can bounce back from the disappointing Water.

[katherine]

And I forgot to add Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which is on the list of films coming to TIFF -- as is Midnight's Children (probably no secret there, really).

For a while I thought Talaash might make the list, but now I'm not so sure. Cameron Bailey did a little hemming and deflecting about it in an interview earlier in the week. That could just be him not wanting to give anything away, but I think there is a question of when exactly that film is going to be ready.

The biggest surprise today was to hear that Gauri Shinde's English Vinglish is getting a premiere spot at the festival. I think that's a nice testament to the importance of Sridevi in Indian cinema, that her comeback film is worthy of a prime spot at TIFF.