Sridevi’s big screen comeback English Vinglish will make its world premiere at the 37th Toronto international film festival along with Mira Nair’s Reluctant Fundamentalist and Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children.
Directed by debutante Gauri Shinde, the film marks Sridevi’s return to the screen after fifteen-year. It is a funny and touching story about an Indian woman who struggles to learn the English to help provide for her family.
Produced by R Balki and also starring French actor Mehdi Nebbou, Adil Hussain and Priya Anand, the film releases on September 21.
TIIF will have some 10 films from Mumbai as part of its ‘City-to-City’ program. The Maximum City is in focus this year.
Filmmaker Deepa Mehta is returning to the festival with her ambitious big screen adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Booker-prize-winning novel Midnight’s Children.
“It’s official now: the film of Midnight’s Children will be at the Toronto International Film festival, special Gala Screening. So delighted!,” Rushdie tweeted.
The author, who has closely worked with Mehta to bring the book on the big screen, said he is proud of the film. “To answer many of you: I wrote the Midnight’s Children screenplay, worked very closely with director Deepa Mehta, and am proud of the film,” he wrote.
The film stars Satya Bhabha, Shahana Goswami, Rajat Kapoor, Seema Biswas, Shriya Saran, Siddharth , Ronit Roy, Rahul Bose, Anita Majumdar, Zaib Shaikh and Anupam Kher.
Nair’s Reluctant Fundamentalist, the opening film at Venice international film festival, will also have its gala screening at TIFF.
Based on Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid’s novel of the same name, Reluctant Fundamentalist stars Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland, Liev Schreiber, Nelsan Ellis, Riz Ahmed.
TIFF announced the first list of films which will include 17 Gala screenings, 45 in Special Presentations programme and 38 world premieres.
The festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2012. (from South Asia Mail)
