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A weeklong feast for cinemagoers
By Lakshmi Balakrishnan
NEW DELHI, JAN. 12. As actress Nandita Das squarely enough summed it up this nippy Saturday evening in the reasonably packed Siri Fort auditorium here, ``Different and real cinema does have an audience''. And for those who doubt the future of films that don't quite fall under mainstream cinema, Siri Fort should have held out some hope, if not a surprise.
Nearly 25 years after it was first introduced, the Panorama of Indian Cinema continues to allure serious cinema-lovers -- with or without the controversies that come saddled with it. And having travelled to Mumbai and Kolkata, the Panorama now is all set to showcase the best of the country's cinematic talent in the Capital.
The weeklong festival which opened for the public on Saturday will screen over 30 feature and 20 non-feature films -- the largest package ever screened at a Panorama. Selected by a 13-member panel, the package was described as a "distilled" one that combines the best of popular and parallel cinema.
With the year 2002 being dedicated to "Empowerment of Women", woman power spills over to the festival too. Opening with Nandita Das's latest film ``Bawandar'', the festival will see acclaimed films like ``Astitva'', ``Kutty'', ``Kali Salwar'', ``Munnudi'' and ``Laado'' reflecting the changing image of Indian women.
With films in a dozen regional languages, the feature section offers a range that include experimental subjects like ``Deham'' and blockbusters like ``Lagaan''.
An attempt has been made to strike a balance between the works of stalwarts and debutants. So Shyam Benegal's ``Zubeida'', Govind Nihalani's ``Deham'', Buddhadeb Dasgupta's ``Uttara'' and Gautam Ghose's ``Dekha'' rub shoulders with newcomer Fareeda Mehta's ``Kali Salwar'', Janaki Viswanathan's ``Kutty'' and Ashwini Chaudhary's ``Laado''.
The entry of new players has been extended to the non-feature segment as well, with diploma films of two Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute students being screened for the first time.
The common thread that binds the non-feature section is environment. This section will also showcase biographical works on personalities like Bal Gandharva, Theyyam artiste Kodakkadu Kannan Peruvannan, Vallabh Bhai Patel and Kannada superstar Rajkumar.
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