Filmmaking is not just about being present on sets taking calls of when to cut and when to shout ‘action’. Filmmaking is about self-belief and having a vision about something before anyone else and most importantly it’s a creative and collaborative effort. Like any other collaborative effort, filmmaking too is about mutual trust and belief and that’s exactly what director Ram Kamal entrusted upon the one and only gorgeous Celina Jaitly when he brought her back to the magical world of movies.
Ram Kamal and Celina worked together in his film Season’s Greetings which is a tribute to the one and only Rituparno Ghosh. and ever since the movie released on ZEE5, it has been winning the hearts of one and all. From international recognition to several accolades and awards, the film has got everything to its credit. Several bigwigs of Bollywood too came forward to support and tweet in favour of the film. The film also bagged the most prestigious ‘Best Shorts in the USA’ and it is in all probabilities the first and the only Indian film to win this coveted award.
Just like other film festivals, the movie Season’s Greetings was sent to China Women’s Film Festival as well. However, the result there was a bit of a mixed bag. Although the film apparently didn’t ‘fit’ into their ‘criteria for selection’, director Ram Kamal received a heartwarming letter from Beltiukova Anastasiia, Program Manager, Hong Kong at China Women’s Film festival. The email reads –
Dear Ram Kamal Mukherjee,
Glad to connect! To introduce myself, I’m a program manager for the China Women Film Festival and the 1905 International Human Rights Film Festival in Hong Kong.
We watched your film ( “A Tribute To Rituparno Ghosh: Season’s Greetings”), and even it doesn’t fit our this year’s “Tolerance and non-discrimination” theme. I still want to send you a personal email saying that your movie is very touching. It’s one of the most heart touching and contemporary cinema on acceptance and equality. With brilliant performance from the lead cast, the film will definitely win hearts. Thank you for making it, we really enjoyed it!
Let’s stay in touch!
Best,
Beltiukova Anastasiia
Program Manager, Hong Kong
中國國際女性影展
China Women’s Film Festival.
However, the rejection didn’t go well with the lead of the film Celina Jaitly who feels the rejection has more to it than just the criteria. Reacting to the decision, she took to her social media to express her regret regarding the film not being selected. Not just that, she blamed herself as she feels the film not getting selected here has a lot to do with her open verbal spat on social media with a Chinese editor of a leading daily who had a thing or two to say about India and patriotism in India. The current situation between India and China is intense and it has certainly not helped the cause.
What do you all think? Is the rejection due to the aforesaid ‘criteria’ itself or there’s a lot more to the table? Put your views forward and support Ram Kamal, Celina Jaitly, and Season’s Greetings.
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