Have you heard of the film Namdev Bhau: In Search of Silence yet? If not, now is a good time. Playing at the 10th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), the lead actor of the film has received quite a welcome surprise.
The 65-year-old Namdev Gurav happened to be the producer Dheer Nirmal Momaya’s chauffeur asked to audition for the film, makes his debut with this film. And he has been nominated in the Best Actor category along with Amitabh Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal, Ayushmann Khurrana, Ranveer Singh, Vijay Sethupathi and Manoj Bajpayee. If the line ‘It’s an honour to be nominated” was truly applied and felt, this would be it.
The film by Dar Gai is about the chauffeur Namdev who can’t take in the noise of Mumbai or his jabbering family anymore. So he sets off on a quest for a fabled Himalayan retreat – to the Silent Valley. On the journey, he meets a chatterbox kid, who begins to show him a new perspective on life. And maybe that not all sounds are noise. Featuring Namdev Gurav in the titular role, it features Arya Dave as the kid and Mukkabaaz actress Zoya Hussain in a special appearance.
Namdev Bhau: In Search of Silence had its world premiere this week at Busan Film Festival on 5 October 2018, followed by its International Premiere at BFI London Film Festival and the Indian premiere at Mumbai Film Festival 2018. Watch the trailer here.
The full lineup and nominations for the 10th IFFM has a few interesting choices and surprises in store for us. Playing 60 films in 21 languages in the categories, Hurrah Bollywood, Beyond Bollywood, Film World India, From the Subcontinent, and Documentaries & Shorts, the 10th edition’s opening and closing film are directed by female filmmakers. Bulbul Can Sing by Rima Das opens the festival and Blinded By The Light by Gurinder Chadha closes it. Both films have been quite the festival favourites since they began their journey. Find all the nominations and lineup here.
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2019 with the theme of ‘Courage’ and a Chief Guest in Shah Rukh Khan. It will run from 8 – 17 August 2019.