India, July 22 -- The MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, a staple of Mumbai's cinematic calendar for close to three decades, has been cancelled for 2025. The organisers shared a statement announcing the cancellation on Monday morning, adding that a 'revamped' festival will be back in 2026. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta minced no words when he shared the announcement on X and wrote, "It's a cruel irony that Mumbai draped in the glitz of being India's financial and cinematic capital cannot keep alive a film festival of its own. Abandoned by the self-appointed gatekeepers of cinema who chased shinier stages and safer bets it was left in the hands of a few." Filmmaker Onir also resonated with the sentiment as he commented, "Heartbreaking that the industry that produces the largest number of films . failed to nurture this one space that celebrated cinema as a form of art. beyond box office and stars, what a loss for the city and a shame for us as an industry." The festival was started in 1997 by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), a public trust based in the city. Over the years, actors like Aamir Khan provided financial contributions while actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas and director Kiran Rao served as the Chairperson. In 2023, the festival was sponsored by Jio. But they opted out as title sponsor last year. Shivendra Singh Dungarpur took over as Festival Director last year after the previous director, Anupama Chopra, stepped down. The 2024 edition of the festival was much smaller than previous editions.HTC...