THRISSUR: A technical glitch at the office of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) organisers has put Malayalam film director Sajeevan Anthikkad in an embarrassing situation.
Sajeevan said he had submitted his latest film, ‘Toll Free’, for inclusion in the Indian Panorama section of the IFFI beginning in Goa on November 20.
On Friday he received an email from festival official Sushant Shrotiya informing him that his film has been selected in the Indian Panorama. Sajeevan was also asked to send his details so that travel and stay arrangements can be made.
“I was naturally excited and shared the news with friends. But this morning (Saturday), I noticed in the media reports that only two Malayalam films, ‘Niraye Thathakalulla Maram’ and ‘Sunny’, have been included in the Panorama section. Subsequently, I checked at the IFFI website to confirm this,” Sajeevan said. “It was a painful experience,” he added.
When contacted the IFFI officials clarified that the letter was actually meant for Marathi film director Ananth Narayanan Mahadevan. His feature film ‘Bittersweet’ and the non-feature film ‘The Knocker’ have been selected for the Indian Panorama section. The attachment sent to Sajeevan clearly mentions the name, the officials said.
“It must have been slipup from the organisers... But since I received an official email, I did not feel the need to recheck,” Sajeevan said.
