Last evening in Mumbai, a select few were treated to a special screening of the Oscar favorite, The Artist, starring Jean Dujardin, Benerice Bejo, John Goodman and James Cromwell by Top Entertainment. It was hosted by Director Anurag Kashyap.
The Artist (directed and written by Michel Hazavanicus), has already won three Golden Globes and seven BAFTA’s, with audiences and industry members routing for it to win big at the Oscars. The film has received ten Oscar nominations and is all set to release in India on Feb 24, 2012.
To celebrate the magic of The Artist, the special screening was attended by film making students, members of the media and the industry at large. The screening was followed by a panel discussion of the film by Anurag Kashyap, film maker Zoya Akhtar, director Onir and actor Sanjay Suri, with eminent film and media personality, Rajeev Masand, as the moderator. They analysed, discussed and broke down the film from their various perspectives, and answered a volley of questions posed by film school students and the media.
As a run up to the screening, Top Entertainment had hosted a short film contest via Facebook and Twitter, where they’d asked participants to send in their black and white, silent, short film entries. The entries were judged by Anurag Kashyap, and the winning film was also showcased yesterday, after the panel discussion. The winner, Tanya Ninaam, was presented with a handycam as an award by Zoya Akhtar, on behalf of Top Entertainment, and Anurag Kashyap.