London Indian Film Festival to open with Delhi Belly

The second annual London Indian Film Festival will open June 30 with the world premiere of Abhinay Deo’s gangster-comedy Delhi Belly, which is being released worldwide the following day (July 1). Bollywood teen hearthrob Imran Khan stars in the film about a group of hapless friends who end up being hunted by the local mafia, It is produced by Aamir Khan.

Anurag Kashyap’s latest directorial offering That Girl in Yellow Boots, about a young girl who goes in search of her estranged father in Mumbai, will also screen during the festival, which runs until July 12 at various venues across London.

The festival will close with Srijit Mukherji’s Autograph about a young filmmaker who gets the chance to remake the classic film Nayak with a superstar in the lead role.

The Satyajit Ray Foundation’s short film competition will also take place during the festival, with the winning film-maker receiving a $1600 (£1,000) award.

Stepping away from the typical Bollywood genre, the festival promises to showcase the best of India’s independent talent.  As the largest film producing country in the world, releasing 1000 films a year, the aim is to bring more Indian movies onto the mainstream agenda.

Cary Rajinder Sawhney, the festival director said: “In addition to showing great movies, we also aim to help get these films talked about and screened more broadly in cinemas in the UK, in the same way that Iranian cinema has been.”