Women have directed three of the titles that make up India's TIFF quartet. That apart, Priyanka Chopra, toplines the cast of "The Sky is Pink"
Toronto (Canada): Four new Indian titles - three of them world premieres - will be showcased in the 44th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF 2019) which gets underway on Thursday (September 5).
At one end of the spectrum is Shonali Bose's Priyanka Chopra starrer "The Sky is Pink", which is based on a true story about a couple whose 25-year relationship is seen from the perspective of their recently-deceased teenage daughter and on the other, Lijo Jose Pellissery's Malayalam drama "Jallikattu", a propulsive tale of a butcher's buffalo that escapes ahead of its scheduled slaughter and sparks a frenzy in a Kerala small town.
"The Sky is Pink" is inspired by the story of Aisha Chaudhary, who was diagnosed with severe immune-deficiency and had to battle through every day of her life for survival.
But even as she counted her days, she lived life to the lees, becoming a motivational speaker and writing a book that was published a day before her death.
"The Sky is Pink", also starring Farhan Akhtar and Zaira Wasim, is due for release on October 11. The film will premiere at a Gala screening in downtown Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall on September 13 with the director in attendance along with Chopra and Akhtar.
The Priyanka+starrer film which will be Bose's third venture, represents a TIFF hattrick for the director. Her first two films, "Amu" and "Margarita With a Straw", also had their world premieres in TIFF.
In "Jallikattu", the latest film from the director of "Angamaly Diaries" and "Ee.Ma.Yau", the bedlam triggered by a runaway buffalo mirrors the state of affairs in a politically volatile part of India.
The other two Indian films in the TIFF '19 programme- Gitanjali Rao's animated feature "Bombay Rose" (which opened Venice Critics' Week and garnered glowing reviews) and Geetu Mohandas' "Moothon" (The Elder One) - present divergent views of the city of Mumbai.
The entirely hand-painted "Mumbai Rose" uses distinct colour palettes and drawing styles to celebrate the spirit of people who live on the fringes of the megalopolis.
Mumbai also plays a key role in actress-turned-filmmaker Geetu Mohandas' Malayalam-Hindi bilingual film, "Moothon", which revolves around a 14-year-old Lakshadweep island boy, Mulla, who travels at great personal risk to the bustling city to look for his big brother, Akbar, armed only with a phone number.
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