Tuesday, April 21st, 2009, 7:30 PM

THE FAKIR OF VENICE

India/2008/114min/35mm World Premiere

ArcLight Hollywood

[buy tickets here]

Director:Anand Surapur

Producer:Dave Katragadda

Screenwriter:Rajesh Devraj

Cinematographer:Deepti Gupta

Production Designer:Susanna Codognato

Editor:Anand Surapur

Music Composer:Michael Galasso

Sound Editor:Debasish Mishra

Cast:Farhan Akhtar, Annu Kapoor, Kamal Sidhu

Adi, a man who constantly hustles to make things happen, is tasked with finding a fakir - a holy man, known for performing feats of endurance. Instead he finds Sattar, a poor man who buries himself in sand on the beach to collect money from passersby and tourists. Together, the two con men venture to Venice where the fakir is to be featured in an art exhibit. Once in the ancient city, their paths diverge. Adi seizes upon the opportunity to advance in the world while Sattar, under the constant gaze of mystified spectators and the foreignness of Italy grows homesick and increasingly isolated. In a strange land where their culture is commodified and exploited for artistic, political and spiritual purposes, these two men are forced to examine the course of their individual lives.

THE FAKIR OF VENICE marks the convergence of two rising talents in Indian cinema - director Anand Surapur who, with his company Phat Phish is on the pulse of the exciting things happening in contemporary Indian music, film, advertising - and Farhan Akhtar, who, born of screenwriting parents, has been honing his skills as a multi-hyphenate filmmaker since adolescence. In this debut performance as an actor, he showcases yet another facet of his many talents.

English

Print Source
Sanjay Bhattacharjee
Phat Phish Motion Pictures
#9 Pioneer House, St. John Baptist Road, Bandra (W)
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400 050
India

Email: sanjay@phat-phish.com
Website: www.phat-phish.com