After Venice, Bombay Rose to head to the Toronto International Film Festival

After opening the Critics Week at the Venice International Film Festival, Gitanjali Rao’s Bombay Rose will be premiered in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on 7 September.  

Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the festival, said of the film's selection, “It's a beautiful evocation of love and a full immersion in both its rich setting and the magic of Indian cinema.”

Gitanjali Rao's film, set in Mumbai, is about "a flower seller who has to make the choice between protecting her family or allowing herself to fall in love". 

In a statement, the director said, "They say it takes a village to bring up a child. Well, it took hundreds of hardworking, ambitious and talented Indian artists to make Bombay Rose and I am as much delighted for them, as I am for me, that Bombay Rose is gaining such recognition by the international industry. I am thankful to Cameron and his team for selecting Bombay Rose and look forward to the response of TIFF's audiences."

Rohit Khattar, one of the producers of Bombay Rose and chairman of the Cinestaan Film Company, said, “We are so proud to present Bombay Rose, Gitanjali’s beautiful love letter to Mumbai, at Toronto. I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard on this film. Cinestaan Film Company has worked with the incredible Cameron Bailey and his team at the Toronto film festival on a number of titles, and we are thrilled to take Bombay Rose there.”

The hand-painted animation film is the feature film debut of Gitanjali Rao and has been produced by Anand Mahindra and Khattar. It is co-produced by Film d’Ici and was delivered at Mumbai-based Paperboat Animation Studios headed by Soumitra Ranade.