“M Cream”, an upcoming independent feature film by debut filmmaker Agneya Singh, screened at the Delhi International Film Festival held at the NDMC Convention Centre on the 26th of December here in the capital. A coming-of-age road movie, “M Cream” is a succinct portrayal of Indian youth – devoid of Bollywood glitz and glamour. ‘We are delighted to showcase the film here to a select group of friends and media ahead of our theatrical release.

The film was extensively shot all over Delhi and so it is a great opportunity for us to be included in the festival lineup this year’, remarked Singh. The Delhi International Film Festival or DIFF, only in its third year, has emerged as an exceedingly important curatorial endeavor presenting the best independent films of the year.

Organized by The Social Circle in collaboration with NDMC and Delhi Tourism, the festival is a weeklong celebration featuring an impressive slate of 250 films from countries both near and far. According to Singh, ‘Cinema is the lifeblood of any country and it really was a tragedy that the capital of India was missing its very own film festival. Luckily for us that is no longer the case and I believe that the Government of Delhi deserves praise for the support it has extended to the festival and the filmmakers’.

Indeed in a cinematic landscape that is dominated by mainstream films with scant social value, film festivals are gaining immense popularity as a deprived audience grows ever more thirsty for engaging cinematic content. It therefore comes as no surprise that films such as “M Cream” are paving the way towards a new parallel cinema movement.

‘Our film is a reflection of the troubled times that we live in. It follows the journey of four friends who set out on a road trip in pursuit of a mythical variant of hashish. Through this plot device we have strived to explore the resurgence of radicalism in today’s youth’, says Singh.

Starring mostly theatre actors, “M Cream” has won several accolades at film festivals around the world. Singh further states, ‘the response has been unprecedented! I think that audiences abroad are fed a very stereotypical version of India – usually they see the dreary festival fare revolving around themes of third world poverty and plight or they are exposed to the bombastic dream factory that is Bollywood. It doesn’t occur to them that there could be another side to India.

Perhaps that is why the film has been so well received’. Fully aware of the cultural taboos attached to themes such as drugs and revolution Singh remarks, ‘If you are committed to a bold vision, you are bound to alienate one section of the audience or another. I think that’s another factor that differentiates independent films from the mainstream - the willingness to take risks and the courage of conviction to see it through’.