⊕ Photo Feature
Text and Photos by Manish Prabhat*
The 13th Tashkent International Film Festival “Pearl of the Silk Road” took place on September 28– October 3, 2021. The Festival was called a revival edition as during the Soviet days beginning from 1968, The Tashkent International Film Festival was first held in 1968 and took place on a regular basis, once every two years until 1990. The Festival showcased the best cinema Asia, Africa and Latin America.
India, given its close cultural ties with the Soviet Union, was a regular participant of the Festival. The revival of the Festival signifies the re-emergence of Uzbekistan and the efforts of the Uzbek Fims (Uzbek Kino) to boost cinema production and business in Uzbekistan. Coming in this ongoing year of the 30th anniversary of independence of Uzbekistan, the Festival became an important landmark in the history of Uzbek cinema.
In the current edition of the Festival, a large delegation from the Indian film industry was present including such names as Randhir Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Umesh Mehra, Rahul Rawail, Boman Irani, Gulshan Gover, Huma Qureshi and many others. During the opening ceremony of the Festival, a popular local Uzbek band “Havas Guruhi” sang Raj Kapoor’s immortal “Mera Joota Hai Japani” which had the audience leaving their seats and dancing. In the opening special India evening, a bust of Raj Kapoor was unveiled in the presence of Randhir Kapoor. Rahul Rawail announced the publication of his forthcoming book on Raj Kapoor.
The Festival featured films in Retrospective, Youth Cinema and Documentaries and also had specials “Days of World Cinema” featuring 14 countries including India. Names like Raj Kapoor and Hema Malini are household names in Uzbekistan and the love for Indian movies has spanned generations.
Also read: उज़्बेकिस्तान चाहता है कि भारतीय फ़िल्में फिर से प्रारम्भ हो रहे ताशकन्द फिल्म समारोह में शामिल हों
The film Disco Dancer was a great hit all across Soviet Union and everybody knows Mithun Chakraborty as “Jimmy” from that movie. India had always a special connection with Uzbek cinema and famous Hindi movies like “Alibaba aur 40 Chor”, “Sohini Mahiwal” and others were shot in Uzbekistan under joint production with Uzbek Kino.
Umesh Mehra who has, in his career, shot three of his movies in Uzbekistan was among the jury of the Tashkent International Film Festival. He was given a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to films and the art of cinema.
The Indian official delegation was led by Neerja Sekhar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In the Indian panorama, 10 selected Indian movies across regions, languages and decades were shown in several cities including Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Andijan and others. Aawara, Shri 420, Baaji Rao Mastani, Drishyam, Anandi Gopal, Sagar Sangamam and many other acclaimed movies formed part of the “Days of Indian Cinema”.
*Manish Prabhat is India’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan
