AS INDIA HAS CHANGED, SO HAS ITS IMAGE, AND ITS MOVIES, AT BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL

SRK films at the Berlinale are always screened in either the massive Friedrichstadt Palast or the Kino International, both in former East Berlin, because these are the only theatres large enough to hold his massive fan following.

In fact, German filmmaker Uli Gaulke once told me, after watching My Name is Khan at the Berlinale, “This film is an important handshake between India and the West.” He saw it as a vital film, fighting global Islamophobia through a popular medium like Bollywood, fronted by a big Bollywood star.

We’re now in a bit of a full-circle moment. From art-house cinema to the glitz of mainstream, this year’s selection includes Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, that is based on the real-life story of street rappers Divine and Naezy from Dharavi, and stars some of Bollywood’s biggest young names (Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt); it will premiere at Friedrichstadt Palast.

Ritesh Batra’s Photograph, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra, the story of a photographer who takes a photograph of a girl and then persuades her to pretend to be his fiancée to satisfy his grandmother who is pressurising him to marry.

Rima Das’s Bulbul Can Sing, a comingof-age story set in Assam, where innocent teenagers on a walk in the woods are harassed, leading to bittersweet consequences. Although expectations are high after her Village Rockstars, which is India’s Oscar entry, she says simply, “I just want to enjoy the festival.”

In Berlinale Shorts is Prantik Basu’s Rang Mahal, a 27-minute short film in Santhali. “It is based on one of the myths of creation among the Santhal tribals,” Basu

says. “They believe two swans laid an egg under a tree, and humans came from that egg. Although I’m dealing with the grand subject of creation, I’d say I aspire to grandeur through minimalism.”

Here’s to a continuing strong presence of Indian and South Asian films at Berlin, and yes, a film in competition before long.

(Meenakshi Shedde is a film critic, curator and South Asia Consultant to the Berlin Film Festival)

JAN WINDSZUS Major venues include the Theater am Potsdamer Platz (above) and the Friedrichstadt Palast. Shah Rukh Khan’s films were among the first Indian ones to open at Friedrichstadt, which seats nearly 1,900. This year, Gully Boy had its premiere at the venue.