<p>Renowned filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar was at the 50th edition of IFFI for a masterclass moderated by film critic Taran Adarsh.</p>.<p><em>Showtime</em> asked him about the festival, his favourite movies and more.<br /><br /><b>When you visit film festivals, do you see Indian cinema reaching the standard of world cinema?</b><br />Definitely. Slowly it is growing, gradually we will be there. I am happy about the 50th year of IFFI. It is a mix of different kinds of cinema in different languages. It has been a great blend.<br /><br /><b>One of your influences, Mrinal Sen, passed away last year. Do you see young filmmakers approaching that quality of filmmaking?</b><br />I feel that Mrinal da, Ray saheb, Ritwik Ghatak have done tremendous amount of great work in their careers. Their films have had a great influence not only in India, but globally. There are some good talents who are making different kinds of cinema, different kinds of subjects. I am happy there is a lot of concept-driven cinema. Today, social media is a big thing. I was saying in the masterclass that there are several avenues and platforms where filmmakers can explore the kind of films they want to do.<br /><br /><b>Any notable names from the younger generation that you would like to mention?</b><br />There are many, not one or two. I really, really appreciate ‘Bala’. It was a good film. Then ‘Andhadhun’ by Sriram Raghavan... I am a huge admirer of his work.<br /><br /><b>You are known for social realist films. Is there a lighter brand of cinema that you enjoy?</b><br />I love different kinds of cinema. I am a film buff. I watch comedy, I watch content on digital platforms. I recently watched ‘Half Ticket’ by Kishore Kumar. I watch Woody Allen films. I watch everything, from Peter Sellers to Rajinikanth.</p>
<p>Renowned filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar was at the 50th edition of IFFI for a masterclass moderated by film critic Taran Adarsh.</p>.<p><em>Showtime</em> asked him about the festival, his favourite movies and more.<br /><br /><b>When you visit film festivals, do you see Indian cinema reaching the standard of world cinema?</b><br />Definitely. Slowly it is growing, gradually we will be there. I am happy about the 50th year of IFFI. It is a mix of different kinds of cinema in different languages. It has been a great blend.<br /><br /><b>One of your influences, Mrinal Sen, passed away last year. Do you see young filmmakers approaching that quality of filmmaking?</b><br />I feel that Mrinal da, Ray saheb, Ritwik Ghatak have done tremendous amount of great work in their careers. Their films have had a great influence not only in India, but globally. There are some good talents who are making different kinds of cinema, different kinds of subjects. I am happy there is a lot of concept-driven cinema. Today, social media is a big thing. I was saying in the masterclass that there are several avenues and platforms where filmmakers can explore the kind of films they want to do.<br /><br /><b>Any notable names from the younger generation that you would like to mention?</b><br />There are many, not one or two. I really, really appreciate ‘Bala’. It was a good film. Then ‘Andhadhun’ by Sriram Raghavan... I am a huge admirer of his work.<br /><br /><b>You are known for social realist films. Is there a lighter brand of cinema that you enjoy?</b><br />I love different kinds of cinema. I am a film buff. I watch comedy, I watch content on digital platforms. I recently watched ‘Half Ticket’ by Kishore Kumar. I watch Woody Allen films. I watch everything, from Peter Sellers to Rajinikanth.</p>