MAMI Mumbai Film Festival to provide a platform for industry people to interact: Kiran Rao

Kiran Rao, who is gearing up for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, says the intention this year is to showcase a great line up of films and provide a platform for industry people to interact and exchange ideas.

The eight-day festival, in its 20th year, will commence on October 25.

Kiran believes Indian festivals, as compared to their foreign counterparts, are unable to rope in artists from across the world.

"Where we don't match with international festivals is our access and reach to international stars, Hollywood or European film industry and around the world. At Cannes the red carpet is jaw-dropping. In Toronto, all the big stars turn out.

"We do the best we can and we think the audience is not coming just for that. We are not there to provide glamour, we are here for other reasons. We are here to get you great films with or without the stars," Kiran, who is the chairperson of MAMI, told PTI.

Her husband, the superstar Aamir Khan, has attended the festival in the past while a host of Bollywood celebrities, like Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt, have marked their presence at the film extravaganza from time to time.

"We need the goodwill and support of the industry to be able to get people's attention," she says.

She points out that their constant struggle is to increase the audience footfall at the festival.

The "Dhobi Ghat" director says there should be different activities held around the year for creative people to get enlightened and exchange ideas.

"If I had my way, I would have tried to do as much as possible for film lovers," she adds.

In August this year, the festival makers organised Word to Screen initiative, through which they aim to create a platform where books can be adapted for the screen.

"The fact that we have gone from one day to two is the sign of success for us. There is a lot of interest from both the sides. We need more such platforms for creative people to meet and interact," Kiran says.

The organisers have introduced another initiative, called Play, a digital intervention where the digital players come together.

The upcoming edition of the Jio MAMI festival will also have a kids section, Half Ticket, among many other highlights.

(With inputs from agencies.)