Jagran Film Festival 2024: Manoj Bajpayee's Despatch, Irani Chai And More Movies To Premiere This Year | Complete List

JFF has long been celebrated as a hub for filmmakers, actors and cinema enthusiasts alike. With the motto "Good Cinema For Everyone," the festival offers an eclectic mix of Indian and international films, providing a unique convergence of creativity, ideas, and inspiration. This year, Despatch will undoubtedly add grandeur to the event with its intriguing storyline and gripping performances.

The special screening of Despatch will take place on December 5, 2024, with Manoj Bajpayee himself attending the event. Known for his impeccable acting skills, Bajpayee portrays a bold and seasoned journalist in the film, navigating a world riddled with secrets as he relentlessly pursues the truth. The film has already sparked excitement among fans, especially after its official trailer was released on Zee5's YouTube channel. Its captivating narrative and the actor’s powerful performance are expected to leave a lasting impression.

Despatch takes viewers into the intense and suspenseful world of investigative journalism. It chronicles the journey of a journalist who, in his quest for truth, unravels a web of mysteries. Directed with precision, the film underscores the challenges and moral dilemmas faced by those in the media world.

Alongside Despatch, the festival will feature numerous films across different categories, such as:

	MOVIE NAME	CATEGORY	SYNOPSIS
Opening Film: Indian Showcase	Irani Chai-India Premiere Dir.Manoj Srivastava / 120 mins / Hindi & Persian/India/2024/Indian Showcase	INDIA PREMIERE	Yasmin, an Iranian woman living in the city of New Delhi is desperately in need of money for her father’s treatment in Iran. Each night, she invites male clients home- men from different professions, Gangsters, Con men, Hackers, Hawala Traders, Policemen and even film makers. By morning, when they get up, Yasmin presents a ritual of presenting the Iranian Tea to them and listens to their stories… stories of sorrows, angst, temptations, ambition and even revenge. She realizes that two such stories from two different Clients can lead her to the location of a 'Treasure' stashed somewhere. Always, a fan of Sherlock Holmes, Yasmin begins to crack the treasure code using her clients’ connections and talents. Just when she is about to succeed, an international prostitution ring threatens to kill her unless she comes to work for them. To make matters worse, her father’s condition is turning critical. Can she reach the treasure without any of her clients suspecting her real intent and before the mafia reaches her?
International Film: World Panorama	Quadrilateral Dir. Daniel Rodríguez Risco/85 mins/Peru/Spanish/2024	WORLD PREMIRE	The everyday life of Adriana, her husband and two kids runs with military precision, but the delicate family balance is upset by her pregnancy. In Adriana's mind, there is only room for four. The five family members oscillate between violence and humiliation in a bid to secure one of the four spots.
Closing Film: Indian Showcase	Village Rockstars 2 Dir. Rima Das/108 mins/Assamese/India/2024/Indian showcase		Dhunu, now in her late teens, still climbs trees, swims, and most importantly, dreams of continuing her childhood life as a guitarist in her rock band. However, life does not unfold as Dhunu wishes. As she faces the bitter and sour moments of life, she stands on the threshold of leaving her once-happy childhood behind.
	Shashwatam Dir. Monaksh N. Kanirkar/11 mins/Sanskrit/India/2023/Indian Shorts		A Lonely old man has to take decision to turn off the ventilator of his brain-dead wife. He is going to lose his only emotional support & reason to live. Story shows his grief, guilt His confrontation with his son and struggle to get back to his beloved wife. Finally, how son is able to get both of them again together, that is "Shashwatam".
	Juggernaut- India Premiere Dir. EMANUELE RICCI/20 mins/Italian/Italy/2022/Intl Shorts		In a medieval dark fantasy atmosphere, a fearless warrior embarks on a painful and exhausting journey to get back what he has lost.
	The Serial Dater- Asia Premiere Dir. Gülce Öztürk /22 mins/ English / Germany /2024 /Shorts	ASIA PREMIERE	In her quest for love, Kasia's journey through the tangled web of online dating turns into a series of bizarre encounters. Seven dates leave her disillusioned, facing arrogance, perversion, and illiteracy from men who see her only as a means to an end. Disheartened, she nearly abandons hope until she reluctantly agrees to one last date with Ryan. For the first time, Kasia finds herself engaged in genuine conversation with someone who shares her passion for cinema. Just as hope begins to blossom, Ryan abruptly vanishes, leaving behind a note signed with a different name-Nico-declaring his intentions to pursue another woman, Adriana.
	The Wise Mother-World Premiere Dir. Sevinç Yeşilçay/50 mins/Turkish/Turkey/2023/Intl Docs	WORLD PREMIERE	75-year-old Mevlüde Genç who lost her daughters, granddaughters and her niece as a result of racists burning down their house in the middle of the night in Solingen, Germany, and did not blame anyone else but those 4 people who did the act of arson, has become the symbol of the fight against racism, peace and harmony since the tragedy that took place 29 years ago. She was named after piece prizes. Resisting forgetting and getting forgotten, burying her pain in herself, she has been calling out to mothers for 29 years: Do not plant the seeds of hatred in your kids’ hearts.
	Risk Takers-India Premiere Dir. Siddhesh Pandey/60 mins/Hindi/India/2024/Indian Docs	INDIA PREMIERE	Risk Takers is a five segment story which follows the lives of Mumbai’s lowest but most essential citizens. They face danger working in brutal conditions, often ignored by the government and urban society. Their bravery ensures a safer city for others.
	Shunya - Asia Premiere Dir. Vidar Joshi/72 mins/Gujarati/India/2024/Indian showcase	ASIA PREMIERE	Anu, an 11 year old girl is told that her beloved Grandmother has gone to God's house. She sets on a journey with a Bhavai troupe to find God's house and get her Grandma back, facing the ideas of the illusion of life and reality of death.
	Portrait- World Premiere Dir. Gajendra Ahire/100 mins/Marathi/ India/Indian Showcase	WORLD PREMIERE	What is happiness!It is there in us, we just have to be aware of it This is the story of a disturbed artist , His name is Raghav,Raghav's father has expired and his brothers trick him, Raghav is a painter in his childhood when his girlfriend is lost or abducted by someone, has a terrible effect on his mind forever. Raghav now lives in a chali with a rented small room.Now in Present , His girlfriend See him, It helps him a lot , This is the story of five Portraits, The first portrait is Raghav himself and, The second is Panchal's sister-in-law , Third ,Jaya is also a painter but she has vowed not to touch paintings now, A few incidents happened in her life when she was in college and she gave up painting The next portrait is a tiger! Tiger means husband of Jaya,An ordinary working man, one of his views comes in these movies, This is the story of five disturbed people on five such levels Everyone is allergic to something, searching for something, and everyone runs after this search. Fifth character, fifth portrait is Mumtaz. She is a singer and the life of this singer has taken many turns Finally a cycle is completed , Everyone finds them Raghav also finds his lost Shami and completes an circle , People with feelings as deep as the sea The movie starts on the sea and the movie ends on the sea ,This film tries to find out what is deep in the belly of the sea, what is hidden, what is not found, the things in people's minds, their feelings, their relationships and all its entanglement, a story is made, that is a portrait. This story tells us that happiness is in the realization of happiness
	Fall From Grace-World Premiere Dir.HARI K SUDHAN / 98 mins / Tamil/India/2024/Indian Showcase	WORLD PREMIERE	The story follows the life of a NUN, At a certain point her deep sexual desire comes out and she commits a sexual act and she wants to break free from that holy image, this creates a dilemma within herself and slowly she starts to lose faith in Christianity. At some point, she encounters a secret "Satanic Cult" and begins to believe their philosophies. Finally, how did she manage to overcome these two powerful philosophies, and in the end what happens to her?
	The Investigator-Asia Premiere Dir. Kamil Shaikh/144 mins/Hindi/India/2024/Debut/ Indian Showcase	ASIA PREMIERE	A new investigator in a small town suspects the suicide of a woman in a refrigerator as a premeditated murder, belonging to a lower caste and also suffering from speech and hearing impairments. However, the unsupportive superior and lack of circumstantial evidence push his limits, until he proves his suspicions are correct, while the clock is ticking towards another transfer and his ailing wife.
	APPU-#ElephantLivesMatter Dir. PROSENJIT GANGULY, AJAY VELU, ARCHISMAN KAR/92 min/English/India/2024/Animation	INDIA PREMIERE	In the last century, the Human population has grown from 1 billion to 8 billion. Meanwhile, the Elephant population has receded from over 10 million to less than half a million due to poaching and deforestation. If it continues they'll be gone forever soon. When hope begins to wane, an elephant calf stomps up to face injustice! That's Appu - a little elephant with big courage! This is the story of an elephant calf, born on a starlit night in the pristine Upavan forests in Southern India. But there is something different about this newborn - an extraordinary ability that Thathi, the yogic matriarch can sense. She calls him APPU. Appu is full of life, and like any toddler, curious and eager to explore his world. But he is unaware of his capabilities and has little control over his strengths. That gets him into many misadventures, much to the annoyance of his mother, Kaveri. She, however, doesn't have much time with him as she soon succumbs to a poachers attack.
	Elham- Asia Premiere Dir. Dhruva Harsh/22 mins/ Hindi / India/2024 /Shorts	ASIA PREMIERE	The symbiosis of a boy and goat, set around the festival Bakrid.The kid befriends the goat and develops a very special bond though he knows that the goat is brought for a ceremonial sacrifice.
	Her Locket- India Premiere Dir. J.E. Tiglao /78 mins/ Tagalog /Philippines/Intl Showcase	INDIA PREMIERE	Jewel Ouyang was once an actress and the daughter of a wealthy Chinese businessman until she suffered from dementia and lost everything. She is being cared for by his lawyer son, Kyle Nicolas, who later hired Teresa Firmante, a caregiver who desires to undergo rhinoplasty to escape her present life. One morning, Jewel stumbles upon a locket necklace containing an old photo of herself with her parents. Teresa soon realizes that this locket is aiding Jewel in slowly recalling her memories of the past – her childhood, her mischievous adolescence, her husband, and her dysfunctional relationship with her older brother, Magnus Ouyang, whom she believes forged their deceased father, Jasper Ouyang's, last will and testament in order to keep her out of the inheritance. Jewel seeks out vengeance and retribution as she later faces Magnus in court.
	Mangta Jogi Dir. Sudhir Sudhir/100 mins/Hindi/India/Debut/2024/Indian Showcase		Ghasita (28) returns to his village, on the outskirts of Varanasi, from the city of Kolkata after 10 years, only to find his family in poor financial condition. His elder brother, SHAMBHU, struggles to meet the needs of the family which consists of his elderly mother along with his wife and son. A long time city dweller, Ghasita finds it beneath his dignity to accompany his elder brother in doing the petty jobs that they find in the village. Frustrated, Ghasita contemplates going back to the city until he meets his childhood friend, PAWARU (30). Pawaru, who used to be poor, is now a rich man. Ghasita is surprised and curious of the transformation. The revelation leaves Ghasita stunned. Pawaru runs a begging business. Pawaru offers Ghasita to join his business. Seeing the offer as an opportunity to change the fate of his impoverished family, Ghasita accepts the offer.
	Valentine @3 Dir. Mani Shankar Iyer/102 mins/Tamil/2023/Indian Showcase		Valentine @ 3 is an anthology comprising of three stories based on LGBT community . Three stories depict life of gay people at different ages. The first story tells about 18 years old gay boy’s feelings towards his school and college crush and his mother’s understanding towards his sexuality. The second story deals with two gay men deciding to get married against different odds in an unexpected situation. The third story deals with the conversation between two gay men in an Uber cab , the driver and the passenger who accidentally learn that both of them are gay and they both have a strong story to share for each other.
	We are Faheem & Karun Dir.Onir / 81 mins / Kashmere,Urdu/India/2024/Indian Showcase		A young security man, Karun from south of India, is posted in Gurez, a remote village in Kashmir, North of India. One day a young Kashmiri man, Faheem, with a disarming smile appears at the check post. This is the beginning of a romance between Karun and Faheem. A romance that is doomed right from the beginning. One man who cannot be open about his identity because of homosexuality being considered a taboo in the context of religion and the man he loves cannot be open about his identity in his profession. Shot in the border area of Indian and Pakistan this is the first Kashmiri language LGBTQI+ themed film.

Village Rockstar 2 Movie (File Image)

How to Attend

To witness the exclusive screening of Despatch and other captivating films, you can book your tickets through the BookMyShow app. Secure your spot for this cinematic celebration and immerse yourself in the world of storytelling. Every year, JFF provides an enriching platform to celebrate exceptional cinema, supporting emerging artists and honoring stalwarts of the industry.

Also Read: Jagran Film Festival 2024 To Begin On THIS Date In Delhi, Touring Cities Across India With Over 292 Movies | Details Inside