Sivakarthikeyan Starrer ‘Amaran’ to Open Indian Panorama at IFFI

The 56th International Film Festival of India has selected Rajkumar Periyasamy’s Tamil-language war drama “Amaran,” starring Sivakarthikeyan, as the opening feature film for this year’s Indian Panorama.

The lineup has 25 feature films, 20 non-feature films, and five streaming series for the Best Web-Series Award.

“Amaran” leads a diverse selection that includes five mainstream cinema titles chosen from 516 contemporary Indian feature film entries. The feature film jury, chaired by actor-filmmaker-producer Raja Bundela and comprising 12 members, selected films representing multiple Indian languages and regional cinema traditions.

The complete lineup of 20 feature films in the main section includes: Thamar KV’s Malayalam-language “Sarkeet,” “Amaran,” Jitank Singh Gurjar’s Braj-language “Vimukt,” Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s Hindi-language “The Bengal Files,” Anupam Kher‘s Hindi-language “Tanvi The Great,” Badiger Devendra’s Kannada-language “Vanya,” Praveen Morchhale’s Urdu-language “White Snow,” Sasanka Samir’s Assamese-language “Bhaimon Da,” Santosh Davakhar’s Marathi-language “Gondhal” and J.P. Tuminad’s Kannada-language “Su From So.”

The selection also includes Soukarya Ghosal’s Bengali-language “Pokkhirajer Dim,” Shivadhwaj Shetty’s Tulu-language “Imbu,” Purushottam Lele’s Marathi-language “Drushya Asdrushya,” Naorem Dinesh Singh’s Manipuri-language “Oitharei,” Reshmi Mitra’s Bengali-language “Barobabu,” Raju Chandra’s Tamil-language “Piranthanaal Vazhthukal,” Vishal Patnaik’s Oriya-language “Maliput Melodies,” Paresh Mokashi’s Marathi-language “Mukkam Post Bombilwadi,” Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar’s Hindi-language “Ground Zero,” and Jigar Nagda’s Rajasthani-language “Whispers Of The Mountains.”

The mainstream cinema section features Laxman Utekar’s Hindi-language “Chhaava,” Shivraj Waichal’s Marathi-language “Aata Thambaycha Naay,” Tharun Moorthy’s Malayalam-language “Thudarum,” Debangkar Borgohain’s Assamese-language “Sikaar,” and Anil Ravipudi’s Telugu-language “Sankranthiki Vastunnam.”

The jury also nominated five films for the Best Debut Director of Indian Feature Film Award: Tribeny Rai’s Nepali-language “Shape Of Momo,” Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s Bengali-language “Binodiini Ekti Natir Upakhyan,” Karan Singh Tyagi’s Hindi-language “Kesari Chapter 2,” Jithin Laal’s Malayalam-language “A. R. M,” and Yadhu Vamsee’s Telugu-language “Committee Kurrollu.”

For non-feature films, the jury headed by cinematographer-filmmaker Dharam Gulati selected 20 titles from 550 entries. Kamlesh K. Mishra’s Hindi-language documentary “Kakori” will serve as the opening non-feature film.

The complete non-feature selection includes: Prakash Kariappa K’s Kodava-language “Ummathat – The Rhythm Of Kodava,” Jayram Bhaskar Waghmode’s Marathi-language “The Untold Agony,” EV Ganeshbabu’s Tamil-language “Aanirai,” Sunny Hinduja and Shinjini Raval’s Hindi-language “That’s A Wrap,” Kapil Tanwar’s Hindi-language “RU BA RU,” Suraj Kumar’s Hindi-language “Piplantri. A Tale of Eco Feminism,” Anhad Mishra’s Hindi-language “Chambal,” Himansu Sekhar Khatua’s Oriya-language “Mahima Alekha,” and Sandesh Kadur’s English-language “Nilgiris – A Shared Wilderness.”

The selection also includes Rohit More’s Hindi, Marathi, Tamil-language “Ta Dhom,” Samten Bhutia’s Sikkimese-language “Shangrila,” Surya Balakrishnan’s Hindi-language “Deepa Didi,” Abhijeet Arvind Dalvi’s Marathi-language “Hamsafar,” Savita Sharma Nagar and Rajesh Amrohi’s Hindi-language “Chowk University ka vice Chancellor – Padmabhushan Amrit Lal Nagar,” Isha Pungaliya’s English, Marathi-language “Oslo – A Tail of Promise,” Borun Thokchom’s Manipuri-language “Battlefield,” Kamlesh K Mishra’s Hindi-language “Kakori,” Namrata Datta’s Assamese-language “Patralekha,” Rajdeep Choudhury’s English-language “Chalo Indian with Eric Ji,” and Ulka Mayur’s Marathi-language “Where the Heart Is.”

The festival unveiled nominations for its Best Web-Series Award. The jury, chaired by filmmaker-producer Bharatbala Ganapathy, selected five series from major streaming platforms.

Prime Video earned three nominations: Anand Tiwari’s “Bandish Bandits” Season 2, Avinash Arun Dhaware’s “Paatal Lok” Season 2, and Bramma’s “Suzhal – The Vortex” Season 2. Netflix received one nomination for Vikramaditya Motwane’s “Black Warrant,” while Amazon MX Player’s “Mitti – Ek Nayi Pehchaan,” directed by Gaganjeet Singh and Alok Kumar Dwivedi, rounds out the nominees.

The 56th International Film Festival of India will take place Nov. 20-28 in Goa.