This year's Mumbai International Film Festival seems to be leaving no stone unturned to ensure that it doesn't have to struggle to the finish line like last year's edition. The festival (popularly called MAMI, alluding to organising body Mumbai Academy of Moving Images), which is considered India's premier film festival, will be held this year from October 29 to November 5, and they've already started looking for funding.
Now, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror published on Monday, it seems that this year's MAMI is truly pulling out all the stops. Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo, whose last two films have been as diverse as 'Foxcatcher' and the upcoming 'Avengers: Age Of Ultron', has confirmed that he has received an invitation for the Mumbai-based festival.
The actor has said that he received an invitation "a couple of days ago" and was "figuring out his dates". "I'm really excited about the festival," he told Mirror. "I have heard a lot about Bollywood and it'd be great if I could visit Mumbai." HuffPost India spoke to a source associated with MAMI who confirmed that they had indeed sent Ruffalo an invitation and were awaiting his reply in the affirmative.
The 47-year-old star is most famous for playing Bruce Banner/The Hulk in 2012's 'The Avengers', but has had a varied career with a mix of smaller, acclaimed films with well-regarded directors as well. He has been nominated twice for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards, for his roles in 'The Kids Are All Right' (2010) and 'Foxcatcher' (2014).
Admittedly, his idea of Bollywood is still somewhat clichéd, wherein he compares the "song-and-dance" with what Hollywood made in the '50s. Ruffalo is likely, then, to be somewhat disappointed by the selection at MAMI if he's looking for the whole Bollywood experience, since the festival mainly features acclaimed arthouse and independent cinema from all over the world.
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