Haifa (Israel): India enthusiasts in Israel gave a rousing welcome to Nushrratt Bharuccha starrer Akelli, which also features famous web series Fauda’s stars Tsahi Halevi and Amir Boutrous, with its opening screening at the Haifa Film festival drawing a full house in the presence of the leading actors.
The film is being distributed by Shai Motion Pictures (SMP) in Israel and will be screened across several cities in the country.
“I am excited to see how the movie has appealed to the Israeli audience. The story connects with the Israeli population and the actors have performed so well,” Director of SMP, Shai Sampson, told PTI.
“I am certain that the film will do well in Israel”, Shai added.
The much-awaited film in Israel, especially among Indian enthusiasts because of the India-Israel collaboration backed by the star power of Tsahi Halevi, premiered here in a festive spirit with Bollywood movie lovers descending in this coastal city from across the country.
“We have created history. It is a wonderful moment to see two Israeli actors, Tsahi Halevi and Amir Boutrous break into the Bollywood film industry,” Nurit Tinari-Modai, the Head of the Cultural Division at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
“I have spoken to the organisers here to maybe make Indian films the focus of the Haifa film festival next year. We may even think of screening them at the Haifa port which has been acquired by Adani, and even see another co-production currently in the works screened,” she stressed.
Nurit Tinari-Modai has played a key role in promoting collaborative ventures between India and Israel in the film space, besides other cultural activities.
The city of Haifa has emerged as a strong link in India-Israel ties with the story of the liberation of the city by Indian soldiers during World War I not only commemorated here every year but also entering local history textbooks.
Also, the acquisition of a port of Haifa by the Adani group and the recent announcement at the G20 Summit in New Delhi to create a trade corridor connecting India with Europe through the Israeli coastal city has attracted widespread attention.
The audience cheered as Nushrratt and Tsahi took to the stage. Tsahi also sang Bollywood numbers like Tujhe dekha to yeh and Yaara teri yaari ko amid a huge round of applause.
“We feel very privileged to be, in a sense to my knowledge, the first Israeli actors to be a part of a Bollywood project… There is a great Indian Jewish community in Israel and they are obviously fans of Indian cinema, so it is all thanks to you that we are able to bring this movie to Israel”, Tsahi said.
Emphasising the special connection between Haifa and India, the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the Indian embassy, Rajiv Bodwade, said coming to the city always brings out strong emotions.
“Today is unique as it is the first time that we have an Indian entry in this prestigious film festival, and it is also unique because we have both Indian and Israeli actors in the film”, Bodwade said.
The Indian diplomat also noted that Bollywood is not new to Jewish actors and highlighted the indelible mark left by the likes of Pramila Devi, Sulochna, Nadira, and David. He expressed hopes that there would be many more such collaborative ventures.
Akelli is the story of an ordinary girl’s escape from a war-ravaged Iraq where ISIS plays havoc with women’s honour is a compelling survivor drama, but the screenplay at times lacks the punch with dialogues failing to do justice to the nerve-wracking sequences. The script being multilingual also poses a major challenge in the process.
The audience generally seemed to enjoy the movie but comments like “it is a bit different than normal Bollywood movies” could be often heard after the screening.
Nushrratt shines in her performance and Tsahi has a strong screen presence as the villain. The audience appreciated their acts.
PTI
