New
Delhi
(UNI):
It
will
be
a
Bollywood
treat
at
the
Toronto
film
festival
this
year!
The
31st
edition
of
the
film
festival
will
hold
a
screening
of
five
Indian
films,
including
the
much-awaited
Bollywood
films,
Kabhi
Alvida
Na
Kehna
and
Kabul
Express.
Trade
sources
said
Karan
Johar's
most-awaited
Kabhi
Alvida
Na
Kehna,
featuring
an
ensemble
cast
of
Amitabh
Bachchan,
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
Abhishek
Bachchan,
Rani
Mukerji
and
Preity
Zinta,
will
be
screened
at
the
Film
Festival
as
part
of
its
Gala
section.
The
Gala
Presentation
section
of
the
festival
is
reserved
for
big
spectacular
films.
What
makes
it
a
unique
honour
for
the
filmmakers
is
the
fact
that
Kabhi
Alvida
na
Kehna
is
one
of
the
few
Hindi
films
to
be
screened
for
a
gala
presentation
at
Toronto.
The
entire
cast
of
the
film,
including
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Abhishek
Bachchan,
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
Rani
Mukerji
and
Preity
Zinta
are
expected
to
be
present
at
the
screening
at
Toronto
on
September
10.
The
festival,
being
held
between
September
7
to
16,
generally
selects
unreleased
films.
But
with
KANK,
which
will
hit
the
Indian
screens
Aug
11,
they
have
made
an
exception.
Besides
Kabhi
Alvida
Na
Kehna,
the
festival
will
screen
four
other
films
including
Yashraj
films
Kabul
Express,
starring
John
Abraham
and
Arshad
Warsi,
Chitra
Palekar's
directorial
debut
A
Grave
Keeper's
Tale
starring
Nandita
Das,
Rajnesh
Domalpally's
Vanaja
and
Haobam
Paban
Kumar's
A
cry
in
the
dark,
all
of
which
will
have
their
world
premiere
at
the
festival.
According
to
Noah
Cowan,
festival
Director,
the
four
films
were
chosen
as
each
of
them
explores
significant
social
and
political
issues
as
among
the
most
poignant
contemporary
film
making
from
India,
South
Asia
and
the
World.
''India
is
a
nation
of
different
cultures
and
languages
which
make
its
cinema
diverse,
dynamic
and
exciting,''
Cowan
said.
While
Kabul
Express,
directed
by
Kabir
Khan,
is
a
multilingual
film
starring
John
Abraham
and
Arshad
Warsi
and
set
in
wartorn
post
9/11
Afghanistan;
Chitra
Palekar's
A
Grave
Keeper's
Tale,
based
on
the
story
Baayen
(Witch)
by
Mahasweta
Devi,
is
a
haunting
story
of
a
woman
condemned
to
the
fringes
of
her
society;
Rajnesh
Domalpally's
Vanaja
is
about
a
15
year
old
dancer
whose
blossoming
curiosities
get
her
into
a
world
of
trouble.
Haobam
Paban
Kumar's
A
cry
in
the
dark,
to
be
screened
under
the
Real
to
Reel'
Section
of
the
Festival,
is
a
powerful
documentary
tracing
the
heightening
unrest
of
the
Manipuri
people
after
a
32-year-old
woman,
taken
from
her
home
in
2004
by
soldiers
of
the
17th
Assam
rifles,
was
found
dead
under
suspicious
circumstances.
''These
4
films
demonstrate
the
impressive
range
of
Indian
cinema,
and
we
are
thrilled
to
be
part
of
its
future,''the
festival
director
said.
This
year's
Toronto
film
festival
will
open
with
Away
From
Her,
Canadian
actor
Sarah
Polley's
debut
as
a
feature
filmmaker
which
stars
Gordon
Pinsent
and
Julie
Christie
as
an
aging
married
couple
whose
relationship
is
tested
when
the
wife
develops
Alzheimer's
disease.