MUMBAI "Larzish, Tremors of a Revolution" celebrates gay pride in a bigger and brighter avatar this year. India's International Film Festival of Sexuality and Gender Plurality caused quite a sensation on its debut last year. Now the tremors have spread far and wide-the festival has almost doubled in strength, reach and logistics.

English film Fairies will be shown at Larzish festival

Organisers Natasha Mendonca and Tejal Shah, whose desire to bring "diverse hirstories (his/her stories) and cultures on par" gave birth to Larzish, are buoyed. "We have received very enthusiastic response from Kolkata, Vadodara, Bangalore, Delhi and Kerala," says Mendonca. The four-day festival will screen 90 films from different countries and many will be from the fiction genre. "Earlier, we couldn't incorporate many fictional films because the screening fees were astronomical. Now because the festival has established its credibility, filmmakers are waiving off the fees," says Mendonca.

In keeping with the growing viewership, the venue has been shifted to the 650-seater K.C. College Auditorium at Churchgate. The canvas too has grown, with filmmakers tackling subjects like youth, war, globalisation, religion and disability. "We want to expand the festival and include visual arts, so this year we will have an art talk on Bhupen Khakhar," says Shah.

The festival's previous success has ensured international attention. Larzish will see active participation of filmmakers like Cecelia Neant Falk of Sweden, Wagner Mendonca Whitehead of Brazil, Paco Diaz Aguilar of Spain and Ambarein and Arwa Mamaji of India, besides Mendonca and Shah. Though corporate sponsorship is yet to come, the festival's impact can be felt. "The media's response has changed. The festival is not being looked at in a sensational fashion any more," says Shah.

The buzz around the festival is growing. For participant filmmakers and viewers this is no more a stepping stone-it has taken a giant leap forward. From November 4 to 7.

-By Kimi Dangor

DELHI Days of the Raj, the capital's latest eatery, is an interesting concept in as much as each dish commemorates history. Worth a try are Sir Francis Drake's Sea Food Treasure, basically tandoori prawns, Bogga Sahib Ka Chicken Kebab, originally created for the burra sahibs at tea plantations, which is really chicken seekh with chopped pineapples, Spicy Shimla chicken Stroganoff, a variation of a classic Anglo-Indian dish. Perhaps the most enterprising is Quetta Spicy Duck with Love Apples or boneless stir-fried duck, originally created by a cook from Quetta for his British memsahib. Foodwise, an interesting journey, but location-wise, a bit of a pain. 8/13, Adchini, Sri Aurobindo Marg.

-By Dilip Bobb

DELHI Strumming his way through the Asian underground scene is Aziz Ibrahim. Using his guitar as a weapon of peace, Pakistan-born Ibrahim is in India on a promotional tour to release his debut album Lahore to Longsight. Mix of rock and raga tunes up a classy songcraft. At British Council, Delhi, on November 3 and 4 and at Razzberry Rhinoceros, Mumbai, on November 5.

-By Supriya Dravid

KIS KIS KI KISMAT Director: Govind Menon Cast: Dharmendra, Mallika Sherawat

A few weeks ago, Govind Menon remarked in an interview that he disliked "bristly underarms". "Either let it grow or shave it well," he said. Unfortunately his film is the cinematic equivalent of an underarm with stubble. A sexual comedy, it is neither comical nor sexy.

In fact, KKKK is the most incoherent script Bollywood has churned out this year. Dharmendra plays a Harshad Mehta-like stockbroker and Sherawat is a Marylin Monroe-like bimbette. Both end up in a hotel and everyone assumes they are having an affair. Chaos ensues for both characters and viewers. The script, also a Menon creation, becomes so bewilderingly bad that you are forced to ponder existential questions like what makes Sherawat's twin peaks so gravity defying or when the film will get over.

-By Anupama Chopra

Raja Ravi Varma's work

PAINTINGS It is magical realism. "Raja Ravi Varma-A Tribute to Realism" will also exhibit the works of 14 contemporary artists, including Suhas Rao, Totha Vaikuntan, Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Raamji Sharmaa, Raghu Vyas, Deepti Naval and Suman Gupta. At Hyatt's Sidewalk, Delhi. Till November 2.

FESTIVAL India International Centre, Delhi, has organised the Festival of Arts. There will be performances by Shubha Mudgal and Arun Sairam among others. Enjoy classic films by Swedish, Japanese, Polish, Cuban, Italian, German and Russian filmmakers, besides those by Indian and American filmmakers. Spend winter evenings watching Orson Welles' Citizen Kane or Marcel Carne's Children of Paradise or the lilting folk music and dance of Sikkim. Art enthusiasts can browse through sculptures and installations. Till November 8.

Jamini Roy's Man and Cow

DELHI As centuries collide, modern Indian art soars with marvellous luminaries. Sitting on its high horse of aestheticism (especially after the recent fetching prices during the Christie's auction), Indian artists have explored realms wider in vision and diverse in focus. Not restricting themselves to one medium, colour or texture, artists like S.H. Raza or the late F.N. Souza worked with a blatant disregard to the purist route. Instead, they indulged in a heavy dose of the fantastic through bold imaging techniques and myriad styles while being singularly fixated on originality.

Jamini Roy, considered to be a frontrunner of a new breed of artists, married the au courant with the traditional folk rhythms of Bengal. "Spirit of a Century" celebrates 58 such artists and their idea-as seen through their eyes. The exhibit will also showcase the works of artists Krishen Khanna, V. Viswanathan and Arpana Caur. At Kumar Art Gallery till November 20.

-By Supriya Dravid

Namrita Bachchan

Hesitant at first, more intrepid now", is how Namrita Bachchan describes her arrival on the Indian art scene. Her solo exhibition at Kala Ghoda in Mumbai, "Give Me Space", curated by Meena Hingorani, is a manifestation of Bachchan's desire to be a "free radical". Kimi Dangor talks to the daughter of Ramola and Ajitabh Bachchan.

Q. An intriguing title ...
A. I have always been inspired by what Archimedes said, 'Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.' Conversely, I also use a lot of inter-planetary motifs in my works, hence the allusion to space.

Q. A graphic artist and a painter. What do you like being more?
A. I love painting. This exhibition is a result of a wealth of ideas that was lying dormant while I was doing graphics. Graphic designing has now infiltrated my approach to painting.

Q. Does the Bachchan lineage still weigh heavy?
A. There is definitely a lot of hype around my surname. My family has done a lot for culture and earned a name. But everyone needs to earn one's credibility. I plan to immerse myself in the culture.

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