Ayub Z. Khan has spent more than four decades inside the film industry, directing, producing, writing, and distributing. At 61, he is not slowing down. With his film festival, CineDreams International Film Festival, he is building something he believes the industry has never truly had, a festival that exists not for the powerful, but for the people the powerful have ignored.
He said, "There are many festivals. Today, festivals are taking place in every lane. But what people do is they put an LED and show the film. And there are 4-5 people. And those who give money get an award. Those who don't, they don't."
"Our main aim is that good people should come into the industry; good people should get jobs, because there is a group of 10-20 people in our industry who make films together, and the rest of the people are not even allowed to enter the office,” he added.
He is equally direct about the quality of what is actually being made at the top. He said, "Now, we have made Dhurandar. What is new in Dhurandar? Did you tell anything new? No, you didn't. You made the story of India and Pakistan, which is happening in politics. The story of Dhurandar is that there are bad people in Pakistan and good people in India. Politicians are also doing the same thing. What did you do in the name of entertainment? You didn't do anything."
CineDreams International Film Festival operates on an entirely different philosophy. Films are screened from 9 am to 10 pm, entry is free, refreshments are provided at no extra cost, and this time around, he has received submissions from 35 countries alongside films in Indian regional languages. But he is particular about how filmmakers engage with all of this. He does not want them sitting through only their own screenings and leaving.
He said, "Until you read two novels, you won't have a third concept in your mind. You learn from reading. You learn from watching. If you watch films of different languages, then you will know what the world is today, what people are making, what we should plan for the future, and what we should make."
At the Bombay edition, Ayub introduced something personal. He named awards after twelve figures from Uttar Pradesh who shaped Indian cinema but have since faded from public memory: K. Asif, Naushad, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Vishal Bhardwaj, Rahul Ravel, and others whose work built the foundations that the industry now stands on without acknowledgement. At the Lucknow International Film Festival, held at Saharaganj's PVR INOX Cinema, those same honors were carried forward, with awards named after Director K. Asif, Music Director Naushad, Writer Rahi Masoom Reza, Lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri, Writer Munshi Premchand, Actor Bharat Bhushan, Actress Nargis Dutt, Actor Sujit Kumar, Character Actor Kanhaiyalal, Producer Prakash Mehra, Sound Engineer B.K. Chaturvedi, and poet and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He said, "Today's generation forgot them. I started awards in the name of those 12 people.
Alongside the festival, Ayub’s production company, CineDream Films LLP, is also making a Hindi film titled Shubh Sangam, with two actors and one actress playing a double role, and they will be given their break from Uttar Pradesh itself.
He is also clear about what recognition means for someone just starting out. He said, "When a person enters the industry, he has a passion. He has a different way of thinking. He wants to decide what he is thinking, right or wrong. When that thing goes in front of people, and those people have done big things in the industry, have a lot of experience, and know good and bad, then it will be decided whether you did right or wrong."
Now he is looking beyond India. The Indian government's restrictions mean Pakistani and Chinese films cannot be screened domestically, and that gap in the program has bothered him. His solution is to extend the festival to Dubai, with additional screenings in Sharjah, and bring 20-25 selected participants from India along with him.
He said, "Pakistani films will also come there. China's will also come; Afghanistan's will also come. There is no hindrance in Dubai. When the films come, the technicians will come, the actors, and the writers will also come."
But what he expects in return shows his commitment and dedication towards the industry. "If five people get work at my festival, I will feel that I did a good job. I can't guarantee everything, but if five people get work because of my festival, their lives will improve. So, as a human being, being in the industry, I did a good job,” Ayub ended.
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