Manjha in Slumdog Blu-ray disc
If you have not yet got a chance to watch Manjha by Rahi Anil Barve (http://passionforcinema.com/this-manjha-comes-with-a-sharp-edge/#more-3513) – chances are you haven’t, because after the 10th MIFF it has not been shown anywhere – here’s a chance to get hold of it.
The Blu-ray disc of Slumdog Millionaire will have Manjha as an exclusive feature (the DVD though won’t have it). I don’t know whether this is the first time that an Indian short film will be a special feature in any form of home video release of such a hyped international film, but one this is for sure – Slumdog’s discs is likely to sell like hot cake and Manjha will now be watched by many across the globe. And this film surely deserves to be seen.
And what a contrast it is – Danny Boyle’s SDM is all about feel good amidst the slum squalor, and Manjha is all about the hopelessness of life of the street orphans for whom there is virtually no chance to win any million. But yes, both are about the fighting spirit of someone who is facing the odds.
Anil, who is preparing to make his first feature Tumbad, says that it is all thanks to Anurag Kashyap, that his film is there in the SDM Blu-ray disc. And Boyle sure has loved the film. “Manjha is an extraordinary film. With little resources it is visually stunning and emotionally captivating.I’m delighted to include Manjha on the Blu-ray DVD release of Slumdog Millionaire throughout the world. With little resources it is visually stunning and emotionally captivating. Surprising and gripping, it’s everything a short film should be, and I look forward with great anticipation to the director’s next project,” Boyle has said in a message to Anil.
Anil is sort of happily shell shocked. “After MIFF, this film was not sent to any other festival, though it won an Apsara Award. I guess Anurag, who knows Boyle well, had shown him mine as well as about 15-20 other Indian short films, and he picked up my film,” he says.
Anil deserves the applause, and yes, Anurag, you deserve a bow for unleashing Manjha on Boyle. Just would like to know, Anurag, what are the other Indian short films that Boyle got to watch…that would be a really ‘worth-seeing’ list for all of us, I am sure.
Tags: Anurag Kashyap, Danny Boyle, Manjha, Rahi Anil Barve, Slumdog Millionaire
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
“Manjha” was also screened by Prabhat Chitra Mandal last year somewhere between Apr-May 2008, a truly deserving short film,it has outstanding title sequence,i remember Rahi was felicitated then in Chavan Centre after the screening !!!
GK
Rahi is the genius waiting to be unleashed on Indian cinema…
ya, anurag, you said it right. hope someone would help his project take off sooner than latter…someone, who would believe in helping an original voice getting heard rather than wasting crores in films like drona, love story 2050 and the ilk.
Speaking about original movies … who directed that part of TZP in which Ishaan takes a break from the school to explore the city?
Is it Amol/Aamir?
If it’s Amol then it would be cool to see what he does in a totally autonomous directorial venture! :-)
@ravi – Ram Madhvani
@Indraneel
Ram Madhavani directed Ishaan’s fancy flight sequence where he sees animated things around…at the Panchgani school….not the Adnan Sami song u talkg abt when Ishaan explores Mumbai city…
Rahi, if you are reading this blog, Great work! , Actually we have a common friend Anurag Kulkarni, who told me about the short almost a year back. And i am desperately looking for seeing your short sooner or later.All the best for Tumbad.
Not sure where to see “Manjha”. Any ideas!!
Ishaan’s fancy flight sequence @ panchgani school was inspired by “Calvin and Hobbes” comics.
Ishaan’s exploring mumbai was equally beautiful.
@Anurag (God i cant get enough of the “Dev D” songs, thanks for bringing out the best out of Amit Trivedi)
When is the Slumdog BD scheduled to release? Would be worth picking up for just the short film mentioned so fondly here…
@Savio
Slumdog Millionaire Blu-ray Disc releases in the US on March 31st. In India not sure whether they will release it on Blu-ray. Shemaroo has the home video rights for Slumdog in India.