Dharamshala Diary: Anurag Kashyap’s Expensive Shoes, Inflatable Theaters and the Dalai Lama

Kashyap’s fandom and Rs 1-lakh shoes

On Friday afternoon, a day into the four-day Dharamshala International Film Festival (Diff), writer-director Anurag Kashyap arrived at the venue to loud hellos, engulfing hugs, causing a minor stir.

Bearded, bespectacled and wearing Rs 1-lakh white Balenciaga trainers, Kashyap brought some Bollywood sparkle to Diff which is otherwise a happy “indie” haunt where only independent cinema is showcased and celebrated.

Kashyap made the transition from independent cinema to deep-pocket studios long ago, yet he remains the guruji of independent cinema in India. That’s mostly because he has mentored a generation of independent filmmakers and continues to do so, but also because while being a darling of film festivals across the world, he also draws crowds to theaters and OTT platforms.  

This year’s Diff had some of India’s best independent film directors in attendance – including National Award-winning Marathi writer-director Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni (who has also directed the new true-crime Netflix series, Murder In The Courtroom), Gurvinder Singh of Chauthi Koot fame, and Achal Mishra whose Maithili-language film Gamak Ghar is a moving portrait of an ancestral house in Darbhanga – but none has the fan following of Kashyap. 

Wherever he went, fans asked for selfies and autographs. Young cinephiles and aspiring filmmakers lined up to talk to him about what they are doing, and how much they admire him and his films. Those whose debut films were screening at Diff requested him to do them the honor of watching it. 

Kashyap watched some films, posed, smiled, engaged with all those who approached him sincerely, attended the after-parties and held a 90-minute masterclass titled Adventures In The Film Trade: The Times of Anurag Kashyap, on the terrace of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts. 

It was packed to the brim.

Encores and inflatable theatres 

On Saturday evening, the queue outside Diff’s main theater was unending, expectedly so.

Pakistan’s film, Joyland, which won the jury prize at the Cannes International Film Festival this year, was being screened in India for the first time. And several cinephiles, directors and film students from across India had bought the festival’s all-films pass especially for Joyland. 

But Diff’s main theater at the Tibetan Institute for Performing Arts could accommodate just 450, which left many disheartened.

At this year’s Diff, films were screened at three theaters. Apart from the main, permanent theater, there were two 100-seater inflatable theaters which were quite fascinating. 

They looked and felt like oversized down jackets – silver on the outside, with black, insulated inner lining – and operated pretty much like those bouncy castles at kids’ birthday parties.   

The projection was digital and the sound and picture quality was great. 

But curating 80 films over four days in three theaters is a scheduling nightmare and, inevitably, several films clashed. Or, the queues were so long that many of those who lined up for a screening could not make it. 

Taking on board the heartburn and fervent requests, Diff organised two repeat shows – of Ritesh Sharma’s Jhini Bini Chadariya that tells the story of a street dancer and a weaver in Varanasi, and of Joyland. 

The queue for the encore show of Joyland, scheduled for 8.30 pm on Sunday, was as joyous and as long as it was on Saturday evening. 

Meeting the Dalai Lama 

At 6.45 on Saturday morning, about 50 Indian and foreign directors, writers, producers, programmers and film journalists rushed out of their respective hotels in McLeodganj and made their way to the large Tsuglagkhang temple complex for an audience with the Dalai Lama at his residence.

The security was tight and the protocol strict.

No bags, phones, cameras, pens or notebooks were allowed. Masks were mandatory, and so was a quick Covid test before thorough body frisking.

Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, founders of the Dharamshala International Film Festival, had organized the meeting. The passage was smooth and quick. But the queue of people who had turned up early in the morning to meet the Dalai Lama was long and so was the wait on the serene, lush, uphill road leading to the Dalai Lama’s residence. 

People were bunched in manageable groups to meet the Dalai Lama who was seated on the entrance of his residence.

As the queue moved up and towards him, everyone got about two seconds to bow to him or hold his hand. As they did so, each one was introduced, quickly and briefly. Some were introduced by name, others as “director”, “journalist”, “writer”. 

Flanked by monks and his staff, the Dalai Lama, now 87, looked frail. He listened quietly, and with his right hand extended for greeting and blessing, acknowledged each one with his saintly smile.

As soon as one group was done with his darshan, his staff moved with exceptional efficiency and speed and made the group huddle around him for a photograph. Most smiled, some wept and as they were ushered away to make space for the next group, everyone received a sacred red thread and small packet of prasad that, an official told us, had been blessed by the Dalai Lama. 

A young lady in the traditional Tibetan dress, Chuba, wept as she walked away from the Dalai Lama, her eyes matching the colour of her dress.

There is something very special about being in the Dalai Lama’s presence. It is at once calming, uplifting and humbling. His aura left me teary-eyed and the touch of his soft hands still lingers in my heart.