Jabbar Patel at IFFK 2022 : We look to Kerala as a mentor to show the way

Jabbar Patel attended a discussion conducted at Sree Kairali theatre, as part of IFFK 2022.

This year’s International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) kicked off on Friday, getting ready to welcome over 180 films from over seventy countries. The festivals will also see in attendance, prominent members of the film fraternity as well. Day 3 saw a discussion take place at Sree Kairali theatre, on the topic of Film Festivals Now and Then, with Shaji N Karun, Malti Sahai and Jabbar Patel.

Filmmaker Jabbar is a prominent name in Marathi cinema, helming classics such as Samna Jait Re Jait, Umbartha and Simhasan. He is also the director of the National award winning film Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, which starred Mammootty in the titular role. At the discussion, Jabbar spoke of the evolution of film festivals, his experience of being a part of the Berlin Film festival, and the important role of IFFK in fostering the spirit of cinema.

The filmmaker first spoke of the evolution of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to Goa, its present destination, from places like Delhi, Trivandrum, Mumbai and Chennai. Several film festivals had come up in its wake, in Kerala as well. Jabbar went on to say that some of his films featured in these festivals, as well as in international ones, and recounted how Shaji N Karun had become a ‘Shining star’ in Cannes, with Swaham.

On his own experience of attending the showcasing of Samna at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1975, Jabbar recalled how unbelievable it felt to compete at the same festival with names such as that of Woody Allen.

Jabbar, who is also a doctor, went back to his days as a medical student, who was obsessed with theatre. It was during this time that he discovered the joy of cinema as well.

Jabbar believed that today, technology played a huge role in helping films become a part of middle class lives. People are now able to not only watch films on their phones, but also make them on the devices. They also helped people get access to the glory of world cinema as well, cinephiles becoming enchanted with the different genres and the window into the socio-political scenarios that such films offer them.

Jabbar, who is the chairman of the Pune Film Foundation, and the festival director of the Pune International Film Festival, heaped praise on IFFK, saying that the festival played no small role in shaping the scenarios of film festivals in the country today. Jabbar said “To me historically, Kerala becomes a very important festival because you have a great history of the film societies. The awareness of cinema has been to small places in Kerala. No where else it happened except in West Bengal. So West Bengal and Trivandrum, these are two major places. We look at you (Kerala) as something of a mentor, that you show the way. And that is how we go ahead”.

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