Mumbai ditches Namaste to say Bonjour

A heady three-month-long festival of graffiti, installations and cinema wants to introduce Indians to a France that's beyond baguettes and merlot

Let's try a round of word association. What comes to mind when we say "France"? Chances are, it will be one of the following: cheese, wine, the Eiffel Tower, couture or maybe even Godard or Victor Hugo. These words do for France what maharajas, elephants and snakes do for India: paint a stereotypical image of a country that is otherwise culturally rich and diverse. Bonjour India, a three-month-long, 18-city festival kicks off today, in an effort to reveal more of France to Indians.

"We want Indians to discover France as a country in transition by bringing them an imageu00a0 of its metros, the young urban population, the people from North and Sub-Saharan African origin, overseas French from La Ru00c3u00a9union and more," says Jeru00c3u00b4me Bonnafont, the ambassador of France to India. Here's what you can expect to experience over the next three months:

Photographs, graffiti, installations
The photograph (top right) is a montage of reds, blues and greens. It might seem more like a collage but it's actually just a picture taken from an unusual angle. Shot by aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, this one shows textile artisans in Rajasthan laying out metres of cloth to dry in the sun. The Earth From Above is a travelling exhibition of large-size prints that is on display all along the Marine Drive promenade right through December. The bird's-eye view speaks about the impact human activity has on our planet, in ways that words can never express. Later in the month, street art gets transposed from French rues to Mumbai sadaks, through graffiti and installations.

Cinema
Rendezvous with French Cinema, presented by Unifrance which promotes French cinema abroad, will be showcasing the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Abel Ferry and Jacques Audiard this week. The magic of Godard, who can be attributed with heralding the New Wave in French cinema, comes alive through a screening of Pierrot Le Fou, scheduled for December 5. The film is a stylish mash-up of consumerist satire, politics and comic-book
aesthetics, as well as a violent, zigzag tale.

Heritage
How would you be spending a day if you were born a century ago? A photography retrospective of Albert Kahn, who documented India in coloured autochromes and black-and-white films, is on display. Organised by fashion house Louis Vuitton, the exhibition which runs in January, will take you back to when your forefathers walked the planet.

Performing Arts
Let visual illusion unlock every thread of your imagination. Plan B's Compagnie 111 will defy the laws of space and gravity through a performance that merges the artistry of circus antics, theatre and video. This poetic creation, that you will find difficult to believe even while you witness it, plays later this month. "We want to bring to India an original, entertaining and thought-provoking combination of French talents," says Bonnafont. Also touring the country, with a stopover in Mumbai is The Sharik Hasan Paris Trio, an Indo-French Jazz group of three, young musicians. MTV VJ and Jazz and Blues singer China Moses will entertain audiences across six cities, while Titi Robin will play in the country he derives inspiration from.

Science
Thirty leading French scientists will engage in talks on subjects ranging from Laser and Plasma Physics to Aerospace and Aeronautics.

Environment
While we are counting down the days to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, it's only fair that the festival focuses on green solutions. At an exhibition titled, Architecture = Durable, Architecture Sustainable, 30 international architects will discuss and debate environmental issues and suggest solutions to counter the crisis.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels