Habitat Film Festival to pay tribute to Shyam Benegal, Manoj Kumar, Raj Kapoor and others

Hindustan Times

02-05-2025

New Delhi, The 17th edition of the Habitat Film Festival will pay tribute to industry stalwarts like Shyam Benegal, Raj Kapoor, Manoj Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood, and Aruna Vasudev.
Apart from a retrospective of Benegal, screenings of NETPAC award winning films, and Manoj Kumar's iconic film "Upkar", the film festival will showcase films in 24 Indian languages across themes of social issues that affect Indian society.
The festival will begin on May 16 with a tribute to Raj Kapoor through a vibrant dastangoi performance "Dastan-e-Raj Kapoor", directed by Mahmood Farooqui, and a screening of his iconic film "Awaara".
An exhibition of posters of the art of the legendary filmmaker's cinema, and a screening of a documentary on Raj Kapoor, directed by Siddharth Kak, will also mark his birth centenary year.
'Our Festival this year is significant for a host of reasons. It's the 20th year since we began, . We mourn the loss of some who have been an integral part of our journey, we celebrate 50 years of three iconic stars in Indian cinema, we pay tribute to some legends of Indian Cinema on their 100th birth anniversary year and raise a hurrah for contemporary cinema trail blazers," Vidyun Singh, creative head programmes, India Habitat Centre, said in a statement.
The Shyam Benegal Retrospective will be flagged off with the screening of his first feature film "Ankur", which also marked the cinematic journey of Shabana Azmi 50 years ago.
Azmi will be in conversation with renowned filmmaker Aparna Sen, who is also the subject of a documentary directed by Suman Ghosh that will be screened at the festival.
The festival will highlight themes of human-environment conflict in films like "Raavsaheb" and "Sangala", gender and caste discrimination in "Swaha", "Appuram", and "Aajoor".
While "Humans in the Loop" discusses AI and society, "Cinema pe Cinema" and "Behind the Scenes" turn the camera inwards and focus on the world of cinema.
The HFF will also screen "Puratawn", Sharmila Tagore's Bengali comeback film, directed by Suman Ghosh.
The festival will also host a series of innovative feminist documentaries that explore and visibilise diverse, lived experiences, expressions and reflections as women, trans and queer persons, including "All That We Own" by Aprajita Gupta, "Making Space" by Nikita Parikh, and "Log Kya Kahenge" by Rafina Khatun.
A curated package of non-fiction films, including "Only If The Baby Cries" by Shadab Farooq, "We Are Not What We See" by Hou-hsein, and "Mic Drop" by Kallol Mukherjee.
The HFF will showcase acclaimed and awarded films from across the country, including "Pyre" by Vinod Kapri, "Nukkad Natak" by Tanmaya Shekhar, "Beline" by Samik Roy Choudhury, "Dhrubor Aschorjo Jibon" by Abhijit Chowdhury, "Mikka Bannada Hakki" by Manohara, and "Feminist Fathima" by Fasil Muhammed.
The much celebrated film by Payal Kapadia, "All We Imagine As Light", will be screened during the film festival.
"As cinema gains more traction with the onset of revolutionary technologies such as OTT, it's important to promote a culture where films aren't just watched but also understood and appreciated. The festival also aims to initiate the new generation into the art of cinema to facilitate the emergence of young, new storytellers, cinematographers, actors and directors who would further enrich both Indian and world cinema with their creativity, energy and dedication," K G Suresh, director, India Habitat Centre, said.
The HFF will also observe the birth centenary years of Muhammad Rafi, Talat Mahmood and Tapan Sinha with discussion of books on their illustrious careers, and a screening of a Tapan Sinha film, "Ek Doctor ki Maut".
The film festival will also see book discussions, workshops, exhibitions, and masterclasses.
The 10-day festival will come to an end on May 25.