Tribute to Madhuri Dixit by Indian Film Festival
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MADHURI DIXIT TRIBUTE
Friday, April
25, 7:30pm
Often
described as the epitome of grace, Madhuri Dixit is arguably the
greatest actress ever to grace the silver screen in India. One
of her most acclaimed roles came in THE DEATH SENTENCE (Mrityudand)
starring alongside Om Puri and Shabana Azmi, a film that not
only won Madhuri awards for her performance, but also bagged the
Best Feature Film awards at the Cinema Tout Ecran in Geneva and
the Bangkok Film Festival. The Tribute will include a moderated
discussion with Madhuri Dixit followed by the film:
In
the late 80s to the mid 90s, Madhuri connected with audiences in
a way most stars can only dream of. A household name, men,
women, and children alike thronged to watch her films. Immensely
adored and acclaimed for her dances in films such as TEZAAB,
SAILAAB, KHALNAYAK, BETA, ANJAAM, and RAJA, Madhuri also
reinforced her talent as a diverse actor in a variety of roles
in memorable films such as PARINDA, SAAJAN, PRAHAAR, WAJOOD,
PUKAR, and the blockbuster HUM AAPKE HAI KOUN.
One of her most acclaimed roles came in THE DEATH SENTENCE (Mrityudand)
starring alongside Om Puri and Shabana Azmi, a film that not
only won Madhuri awards for her performance, but also gathered
the Best Feature Film awards at the Cinema Tout Ecran in Geneva
and the Bangkok Film Festival.
Madhuri also reunited with director Yash Chopra to make a
smashing comeback in the role of a classical dancer in MY HEART
IS CRAZY (Dil To Pagal Hai), starring opposite Bollywood
superstar Shahrukh Khan. The chemistry between the lead actors
and Madhuri's spectacular dancing helped this film make a clean
sweep at the box office and all the popular awards.
In an effort to highlight Madhuri's diversity, IFFLA is proud to
present THE DEATH SENTENCE and MY HEART IS CRAZY as part of our
tribute to one of Indian cinema's most significant and popular
personalities. Moderated discussion with Madhuri Dixit will be
followed by the screening of the film:
THE DEATH SENTENCE (Mrityudand)
India/1997/150min/35mm
Director/Producer/Editor: Prakash Jha
Screenwriters: Anil Ajitabh, Rajan Kothari, Prakash Jha
Cinematographer: Rajan Kothari
Art Director: Sharmishtha Roy
Music Composer: Anand-Milind
Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Ayub Khan, Mohan Agashe,
Shilpa Shirodkar
In rural Bihar, notorious for its lawlessness and chauvinism, three women from
different backgrounds find themselves forced by circumstances to break rigid
rules and traditions of a suppressive society. Ketki (Dixit), an educated, young
girl, is married to Vinay (Khan), a frustrated and over-ambitious young man who
is cheated in a get rich quick scheme. Ashamed and guilty, Vinay retorts by
humiliating Ketki. Chandravati (Azmi) is publicly humiliated and renounced by
her husband Abhay Singh (Agashe), due to her alleged childlessness. After having
protected her husband's impotency for years, Chandravati finds solace in
Rambaran (Puri), a low-caste well wisher of the family. Kanti (Shirodkar)
struggles to make ends meet while fending off her exploitative employer,
awaiting her husband's return to clear her family's debt and relieve her from
servitude.
Unlike the majority of the women in the village, Ketki, Chandravati, and Kanti
dare to protest against the injustice meted out to them. Their so-called
masculinity under threat, the men of the village unite, branding the women as
evil, sentencing them to death.
THE DEATH SENTENCE was a bold and significant landmark in mainstream Indian
cinema. The cast features some of the Hindi film industry's finest actors,
topped with a stellar performance by IFFLA 2008 Tributee Honoree, Madhuri Dixit,
arguably Indian cinema's most popular actress.
Hindi (English subtitles)
The Tribute evening includes a moderated discussion with Tribute Honoree Madhuri
Dixit (about 40 minutes) followed by the screening of THE DEATH SENTENCE (Mrityudand).
The ticket for this event is $25. The second film of the Tribute is MY HEART IS
CRAZY (Dil To Pagal Hai) on Saturday, April 26 at noon. This is a regular
screening.