This incident happened at the INOX theatre, one of the major venues of the festival. Photo: ManoramaPanaji (Goa): Iranian Film Director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf was the chief guest at the 45th International Film Festival of India. The stark truth is that even the festival organisers have no clue about his credentials. During the festival, when Makhmalbaf and his wife Marzieh Meshkini who is also a director, tried to enter a crowded theatre for viewing a film, the people there kicked them out.
It was only after a few mediapersons who recognised them intervened that they were let in! The theatre volunteers did not even have the courtesy to offer him a seat. “Even the Goa SP was without a seat, then how can we give this ‘Baf’ one,” a volunteer there said.
This incident happened at the INOX theatre, one of the major venues of the festival. Makhmalbaf and his wife reached there to see the film ‘Clouds of Sils Maria,' written and directed by Olivier Assayas. The festival guests do not require a ticket, but still the gate volunteers didn’t recognise him and refused to let him in. On seeing a packed theatre, Makhmalbaf decided to sit on the floor to watch the film, but was thrown out by the volunteers saying that the rules did not allow anyone to sit on the floor. After the media representatives vouched for him, he and his wife was allowed in again, but had to watch the entire film standing near the theatre door.
The pitfalls in organising the festival are evident here. The provision of a mere 2500 seats for almost 13,000 delegates is a major example indeed.
Director Jeethu Joseph’s film Drishyam was shown in the Panorama section of the festival, but the organisers did not even bother about his travel arrangements. He had to wait for more than an hour at the airport for a vehicle to get to the venue. All this, when Marathi stars, Konkani stars from Goa, celebrities from Bollywood and other Hindi Television stars got royal treatment.
Internationally renowned directors including Makhmalbaf, and those invited from the southern film fraternity were ignored.
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