Prakash Jha's film is the first Bollywood film in 15 years to get invited to premiere at the London Film Festival

The prestigious London Film Festival’s director Clare Stewart has invited Prakash Jha’s latest film Chakravyuha to be the opening film at the festival. A singular honour, considering no Indian film has opened the London Film Festival since Prakash Jha’s Mrityudand in 1997. There is only one hitch. The festival directorate has requested Prakash Jha to postpone the film’s release date by a week, from 5 Oct to 12 Oct so that the film can be premiered in London. Though Jha is seriously tempted the delay would be costly and needs to be talked out with film’s worldwide distributors Eros International. Jha now needs to sit with Eros and work this out. When contacted the director’s dilemma was palpable. “Yes, I’ve received an offer to premiere Chakravyuha as the opening film at the London Film Festival. It’s a big honour. Last year George Clooney’s film got that honour. But for my premiere to happen in London we’ve to postpone the release by a week. This entails heavy readjustment and monetary losses since theatres have been booked all across India and worldwide. At the same time I don’t want to miss out on such a prestigious opportunity. I will have to figure this out with Eros International.”