Exciting line-up at the New York Indian Film Fest

An exciting line-up of 25 feature films will screen at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), the oldest and most prestigious Indian film festival in the US, including 15 world and US premieres.

Making its US premiere at the 4th May to 8th May festival in Manhattan will be Sudhir Mishra's acclaimed romantic crime drama Yeh Saali Zindagi starring Irrfan Khan, the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) announced Tuesday.

Legendary actress Shabana Azmi stars in the cross-cultural love story A Decent Arrangement which makes its world premiere.

Movie fans will also get to go back in time with Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan with the New York Premiere of Raakh Redux, the digitally re-mastered version of the actor's early hit which won three National Film Awards.

NYIFF will also showcase an amazing line-up of powerful documentaries from and about India.

The Bengali Detective, which chronicles the life of Kolkata's dance-obsessed private eye Rajesh Ji, makes its New York premiere following its extraordinary reception at Sundance.

Also screening will be Made in India which examines both sides of the surrogacy issue with an infertile American couple and a young mother in India contracted to carry their baby, and Bhopali which looks at the suffering that still exists today after the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak which was one of the world's worst industrial disasters.

The full line-up of features includes Disney's Do Dooni Chaar directed by Habib Faisal and starring Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh which makes its US premiere as the Opening Night selection of NYIFF.

It also features the US premiere of Rituparno Ghosh's Nauka Dubi as the Closing Night selection, and the New York Premiere of Aparna Sen's Iti Mrinalini which will screen as the Centerpiece selection.

"I am thrilled to present the line up for the 11th Annual IAAC New York Indian Film Festival," says NYIFF Director Aseem Chhabra.

"We are presenting a wonderful mix of films from India and other parts of the subcontinent as well as the Diaspora - a blend of works by young independent filmmakers and a few masters," he adds.

"The programme represents films from Mumbai as well as other regional filmmaking centres in the subcontinent. Many of the films we are presenting are world and US premieres."