SAAWARIYA TO OPEN SOUTH ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK ON NOV 7

Saawariya, the first Bollywood production from a Hollywood studio, is to open a prominent festival of South Asian films in New York on November 7 and release commercially two days later in over 80 theatres in North America.

Produced by Sony Pictures and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, it is the much awaited debut film of Ranbir Kapoor (son of actor Rishi Kapoor) and Sonam Kapoor (daughter of actor-producer Anil Kapoor).

Saawariya is the timeless tale of two young star-crossed lovers from different religions whose passions almost take them to the brink of self-destruction. It is based on Dostoevsky's short story White Nights.

It is the main draw at the five-day Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival, which will screen 70 films, including diaspora, Bollywood and short films.

The festival's closing film is The Last Lear by Rituparno Ghosh, considered heir to the legendary Satyajit Ray. The film has Amitabh Bachchan playing an ageing Shakespearean actor who takes on the bard's most challenging role. It is based on Utpal Dutt's play Aajker Shahjahan.

The festival will conclude with six awards being presented for best film, best director, best actor, best actress, best documentary and best short film.

MIAAC film festival's executive director Aroon Shivdasani said 2007 marks a groundbreaking year as Hollywood studios such as Warner Brothers, Viacom, Disney and Sony Pictures have started to invest in Bollywood films.

The festival, now in its seventh year, has earlier featured films by Mira Nair, Ismail Merchant, Deepa Mehta, Gurinder Chaddha and Nagesh Kukunoor.

The festival is organised by the Indo-American Arts Council, which is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes Indian artistes in the fields of performing, literary, visual and folk and fusion arts.

AT 65, AMITABH BACHCHAN MAKES HIS HOLLYWOOD DEBUT WITH 'THE LAST LEAR'

Working in English and simply growing old are offering new opportunities to movie icon Amitabh Bachchan whose first English-language film, The Last Lear, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival this week.

Bachchan, described on industry website www.imdb.com as "arguably India's greatest ever superstar," said making a film in English had brought back memories of school and college. An English-language film was different, but logical at the same time, given the role of English as a common language in India.

"It's always wonderful to experiment with something different," said Bachchan, the day after the sold-out Toronto premiere.

"At 65 you get an opportunity to experiment with all kinds of films and that's what's happening, and I am happy that there are people that want me to work with them, and it gives me the chance to do something different."

In The Last Lear, Bachchan plays Harry, a reclusive stage actor who quotes Shakespeare with relish and who -- somewhat reluctantly -- is making his movie debut at the age of 65.

He stars alongside Preity Zinta, who is also acting in her first English-language film, as are others in the cast.

Director Rituparno Ghosh has chosen to add subtitles, even for a North American audience. "I did it because we Indians speak English in various ways -- the same language can take various forms," said Ghosh. "And the tongues of the various communities of India may not be so easily comprehensible to a Western audience."

Bachchan said the role of Harry, and the way he used Shakespeare's language to illustrate his points, had brought back memories of his own early acting days, including the role of Cassio in Shakespeare's Othello.

He named Hamlet as one role he has always wanted, but admitted that "at my age, I would probably be playing the ghost."

At just over two hours, The Last Lear is short by Indian standards, and there are none of the song and dance routines that form the usual highlights of a Bollywood extravaganza.

Bachchan bristled at the idea that the new movie might be considered "Bollywood."
"We don't like that word," he said. "It was coined by some smart journalist and it just stuck, and now it's in the Oxford dictionary."