NEW DEHI: In a new initiative to reach out to the people to see meaningful cinema, the National Film Development Corporation has launched a weekly ‘Film Aaj Kal’ in association with 92.7 Big FM to coincide with its summer festival of NFDC Classics.

The ground-activation event – ‘Film Aaj Kal’ screenings and conversations beginning from 15 July, until 15 August is aimed at building film communities and empower the viewer.

92.7 Big FM in ‘Film Aaj Kal’ is aimed at cinema education and awareness programme which has the filmmakers discuss movie classics and bringing these films back to the fore.

The exhibition partners are Harkat Studios in Aram Nagar and G5A Centre for Contemporary Culture at Lower Parel and the online booking partner is 1018mb.

‘Film Aaj Kal’ is not just about exploring alternative audiences. It’s also about exploring alternate spaces, alternate distribution platforms, and booking and communication platforms.

The radio show which has already aired six episodes as of 3 July 2017 plays on Sundays on 92.7 Big FM from 4pm to 6pm is hosted by a hugely popular star RJ and cinephile, Siddharth Mishra, and is designed as a series of conversations between filmmakers discussing about the NFDC classics evoking a renewed interest in the films.

One of the episodes showcased ‘Gaman & Taxi No. 9211’ as films that look at Mumbai through the eyes of a cab driver - both from different eras, in varied styles, addressing different class issues as well - but with an underlying subtext of the immigrant. Another episode was around Salaam Bombay and Chameli - Mira Nair and Sudhir Mishra chatted about the way they approached the Brothel and the Underbelly story.

The programmes broadcast so far:

• 28th May - Gaman and Taxi No.9211. Speakers - Muzaffar Ali (telephonic) and Milan Luthria
• 4th June - Gandhi and Hey Ram. Speakers - Alyque Padamsee (telephonic) and Kamal Haasan (telephonic)
• 11th June - Salaam Bombay and Chameli. Speakers - Mira Nair (telephonic) and Sudhir Mishra
• 18th June - Raghu Romeo and Phas Gaye re Obama. Speakers - Rajat Kapoor and Subhash Kapoor
• 25th June - Dharavi and Slumdog Millionaire. Speakers - Sudhir Mishra and Saurabh Shukla
• 2^nd July – Pestonjee and Being Cyrus. Speakers – Vijaya Mehta and Homi Adajania

This idea is to bring together the community to watch films together and then talk cinema over a glass of nimbu paani, a cup of tea/coffee or those chutney sandwiches. Film Aaj Kal Screenings and Conversations gives not just the viewers but also the discerning filmmaker and cineastes an opportunity to explore alternate film destinations and also actively engage in conversations around cinema - and not just limit those discussions to a Master-Class or a workshop.

The current schedule for the event is:

Venue – Harkat Studios

• 15 July , Sat  - 7.00 pm - Opening Session & Screening of Om Dar-B-Dar
• 16 July, Sun - 4.00 PM - Mammo
• 21 July - Fri - 7.00 PM - Dharavi
• 22 July - Sat - 12.00 PM - Salaam Bombay
• 22 July - Sat - 4.00 PM - Gaman
• 22 July - Sat - 7.30 PM - Mirch Masala
• 23 July - Sun - 4.00 PM - Jaane bhi do yaaron
• 30 July - Sun - 12.00 PM - Raghu Romeo

Venue - G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture

• 29 July - 4.00 PM  

Inauguration of the Saeed Akhtar Mirza Retrospective and screening of the Opening Film 

• 30 July - 12.00 PM – Arvind Desai ki ajeeb dastaan
• 30 July - 4.00 PM - Naseem
• 30 July - 6.00 PM - Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro

NFDC took care to choose alternate exhibition spaces - not the traditional theatres with the hugely expensive box office: HARKAT studios in Aram Nagar for the Suburbian Junta and G5A Centre for Contemporary Culture in Lower Parel for the Townies.

Harkat Studios is a boutique arts studio and a co-working space in the bustling area of Aram Nagar, Andheri West. Harkat has collaborated with numerous brands including Unilever, Walt Disney, UTV, Fox Star Studio (to name a few) to create innovative video content. The studio also hosts live performances, screenings, workshops etc. and has been a popular centre for arts and artists coming from the indie space.

When the quirky Bungalow is not hosting events, the place doubles as a co-working space for independent professionals looking for an office space. The work and vibe of Harkat Studios suits perfectly with the community building nature and indie spirit that Film Aaj Kal Screenings and Conversations is seeking to promote for cinephiles.

G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture is a not-for profit organization which houses a Blackbox and hosts a range of events and programmes including but not limited to screenings, theatre performances, exhibitions and launch events. G5A has endeavoured to and has slowly emerged as important alternate venue in the town area of Mumbai as a community space for artists and professionals to work around. G5A last year, was the venue for the Mumbai chapter of the New York Indian Film Festival which screened curated films followed by discussions with the filmmakers.

1018mb.com portal evolved from the phenomenon of 'Four-eyed Monsters', a 2005 US film which became a financial success and a cult-classic by its innovative distribution strategy of an audience demanding a screening. A film gets screened at a certain city if enough audience pledge viewership for the film. A trick, films like ‘Paranormal Activity’ have used to great effect. Plus, it’s a revolutionary community building exercise for like-minded cinephiles and geeks.

Keeping with the concept of community-based screenings and keeping with the times technologically, 1018mb.com is an online ticket booking portal which enables users to create and schedule screenings of films of their choice from the site's extensive catalogue of films and make available to other like-minded audience to attend.