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A 40 minutes delayed flight on Jet Airways from Mumbai to Panaji, accreditation badge not ready on arrival, late first night due to checking into the hotel, unpacking, settling down, dinner with a friend, etc, missing the next morning's Indian film preview screening because it clashed head-on with the Curtain-Raiser Press Conference (PC), missing the next one while trying to get the badge made, going for the third film of the day, KUTTRAM KADITHAL-Tamil-director Bramma G-2014-122 min-Blu-Ray-Colour--and walking out 16-17 minutes into the screening, out of sheer diappointment at the content. Add to that poor sound. Learnt from a colleague that the other film, on Lokmaya Tilak, had DVD problems and was mediodre too. Felt rather sad that I could see only 16-17 minutes out of 6 full films screenings. That, in short, is what happened in the 24 hours since I reached Mumbai doemstic airport. Far from ideal start to what, I pray, will be a much more memorable period of 11 days, from now till the 30th.
Keni's Hotel has idiosyncratic staff, Raphael and Dilip Kumar. Famous names both. The room was okay, but the lift would not stop at the first floor. Ordinarily, it would be no issue, but when you arrive with luggage to last out 14 days, from the 18th till the 2nd of December. But they sent a man along to help. They don't accept credit cards, or even debit cards, and insist on daily advance payment. Two days paid. But where was Mohan Siroya, who suggested the hotel in the first place? He managed to get a room in his usual choice, Hotel Neptune Deluxe. Keni's is 15-minutes' walk from the festival centre, while Neptune Deluxe is 5 minutes away. I am tempted to shift, provided the management can find a room for me by Thursday afternoon.
Shankar Mohan, the Director of the Festival (in his last appearance in this capacity), Rajan Satardekar, CEO Entertainment Society of Goa (in his first appearance) and Ira Joshi (Director, Press Information Bureau, making her first visit to IFFI) addressed a press conference, which was long-winded and boring. A colleague asked for tea, noticeable by its absence at all IFFI press conferences, and, surprise, surprise, tea came with potato vadas, a popular Indian snack, courtesy ESG.
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