Osian's-Cinefan 2007: Of guards and ushers

Well, there's no beating the security guards at Siri Fort Auditorium no matter who you are. Food and drinks are NOT allowed inside. VJ-turned-actor Ranvir Shorey learned this the hard way this week when a guard forced him to chuck his Fountain Pepsi before allowing him to enter.

Would just love the look on Shahrukh Khan's face if a guard did this to him at the Osian's-Cinefan film festival.

Am sure Manoj Bajpai would agree. After all, he's been a regular at Siri Fort in his student days, working as an usher to earn money while dabbling in theatre. In fact, it was within these hallowed walls that he first watched Heat and Dust.

Is that why his film Return to Rajapur seems so much like a remake of the Merchant-Ivory film? Try telling that to him. He just wouldn't agree.

On the whole, Osian's-Cinefan has been fun. Especially the kind of stuff I have been hearing from fellow audience members. One ecstatic girl pointed to IIPM head Arindam Chaudhuri and wondered aloud how he looks like Bipasha Basu's twin.

A couple of middle-aged aunts tut-tutted during Rupa Ganguly's lesbian romp in Jara Brishtie Bhijechilo. How Draupadi has changed, they must have been wondering.

And while Shoonya was being screened, the man sitting next to me fell asleep and started snoring. Now, it's a very serious film with several pregnant moments of silence. So, you can easily imagine the giggles that broke out when this man's snores echoed in the auditorium in tandem with the action on screen.

Can't blame the poor guy though. Watching up to four films on a daily basis is tough work and by the night show, one is prone to frequent spells of yawning. But it's just a matter of ten days, right? Sleep can wait for now. Films are more important.

Exclusive Coverage of Osian's-Cinefan 2007 film festival