Visiting Film Bazaar for the first time, Thierry Fremaux drew comparisons between Indian cinema and the ground-breaking films made in the US in the 1970s.

“We had this perception that there were two sides to Indian cinema – mainstream Bollywood and auteur filmmakers like Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. But I feel in the past five years a new generation has emerged in the middle of that,” Fremaux told Screen.

“To me it looks like what we used to call the new Hollywood in the 1970s. Its quite interesting to see new filmmakers who want to find their own way.”

Fremaux also talked about how he pushed to have Devdas screen in official selection at Cannes in 2002, despite the reservations of some colleagues. “Every country makes film noir, love stories and comedies, but Bollywood is something different. It was an obvious choice to me, especially because it was a very good film.”

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