Some great films including Mohit Takalkar’s The Bright Day, both parts of the epic Gangs of Wasseypur, Habib Faisal’s Ishaqzaade,  Ashim Ahluwalia‘s Miss Lovely, Manjeet Singh’s Mumbai’s King, the indie powerhouse that is Peddlers, the World Premiere of Hansal Mehta’s Shahid, fresh from its IIFA premiere Dibakar Banerjee’s  Shanghai and Anand Gandhi Ship of Theseus.

Full list and descriptions of the films below, stay tuned for our ongoing coverage of the 37th Toronto International Film Festival which runs from September 6 to 16, 2012.

The Bright Day Mohit Takalkar, India
World Premiere
Yearning for meaning in his life, a coddled young man abandons his girlfriend and family to set out on a spiritual quest across India. Shot with sophisticated DSLR cameras and reflecting a new passion for personal filmmaking, The Bright Day finds images to chart a soul’s progress.

Gangs of Wasseypur – Part One Anurag Kashyap, India
North American Premiere
Part One of Anurag Kashyap’s decade-spanning gangster epic chronicles the bloody turf war between two competing criminal families during the tumultuous era of Indian independence and industrialization. Starring Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadda and Reema Sen.

Gangs of Wasseypur – Part Two Anurag Kashyap, India
North American Premiere
Part Two of Anurag Kashyap’s stylish Indian gangster epic amps up the adrenaline as the irresistibly amoral criminal clans of Wasseypur careen towards their bloody date with destiny. Starring Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadda and Reema Sen.

Ishaqzaade Habib Faisal, India
Canadian Premiere
A love story set amidst political violence in northern India, this romance follows Hindu Parma (Arjun Kapoor) and Muslim Zoya (Parineeti Chopra) as they try to escape the restrictive demands of their families. Better known for glossy entertainments, Bollywood’s Yash Raj studio delivers a surprisingly gritty reflection of the new India.

Miss Lovely Ashim Ahluwalia, India
North American Premiere
Set in the lower depths of Bombay’s C-grade film industry, Miss Lovely follows the devastating story of two brothers who produce sex-horror films in the mid-1980s. The film gets under the skin of the Bollywood underground — an audacious cinema with wild cinemascope compositions, lurid art direction, rollicking background soundtracks, and gut-wrenching melodrama. Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Niharika Singh and Anil George.

Mumbai’s King Manjeet Singh, India
World Premiere
Rahul roams the streets with his balloon-seller friend Arbaaz. These two kids escape the grim realities of their lives by gambling, roasting stolen potatoes, stealing an auto rickshaw for a joyride, and chasing girls. But soon Rahul has to “take care” of his violent father, who has forced him to live on streets. Starring Rahul Bairagi, Arbaaz Khan and Tejas Parvatkar.

Peddlers Vasan Bala, India
North American Premiere
The lives of a rookie cop, a streetwise orphan and a beautiful young ex-teacher collide explosively in the drug underworld of Mumbai in this edgy, powerhouse thriller that exemplifies the verve and excitement of India’s new independent cinema. Starring Gulshan Devaiah and Siddharth Mennon.

Shahid Hansal Mehta, India
World Premiere
Shahid is the remarkable true story of slain human rights activist and lawyer Shahid Azmi, who was killed in 2010 by unidentified assailants in his office. From attempting to become a terrorist, to being wrongly imprisoned under a draconian anti-terrorism law, to becoming a champion of human rights (particularly of the Muslim minorities in India), Shahid traces the inspiring personal journey of a boy who became an unlikely messiah for human rights, while following the rise of communal violence in India. This story of an impoverished Muslim struggling to come to terms with injustice and inequality, whilerising above his circumstances is an inspiring testament to the human spirit. Starring Raj Kumar, Prabhleen Sandhu and Baljinder Kaur.

Shanghai Dibakar Banerjee, India
North American Premiere
From the director of Love Sex aur Dhokla comes a searing political drama. Abhay Deol plays an investigator seeking the cause behind the assassination of a firebrand politician, complicated by the actions of the politician’s lover, played by Kalki Koechlin.

Ship of Theseus Anand Gandhi, India
World Premiere
In the first feature film from acclaimed Indian playwright Anand Gandhi, three disparate people — a devout monk stricken by illness, a blind woman whose sight is suddenly restored, and a stockbroker who sets out to combat the illegal international trade in human organs — are linked by an unknown connection as they follow their individual paths through the kaleidoscopic streets of Mumbai.

The 37th Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2012.

Tickets to screenings for this programme will be available for individual purchase as well as through the City to City Package, which includes all 10 screenings for $156, or $100 for students and seniors. Purchase Festival ticket packages online 24 hours a day at tiff.net/festival, by phone Monday to Friday from 10am to 7pm ET at 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433, or by visiting the box office in person from 10am to 10pm ET at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

About TIFF TIFF is a charitable cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, and learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $170 million CAD. TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation and RBC. For more information, visit tiff.net.