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Big guns give a miss to the international flavour
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The Festival, which concludes today received a mixed response from the Telugu film industry, writes NEERAJA MURTHY
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PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU
Regional flavour A few delegates from the Telugu film industry
It is a small but growing tribe, asserts 2nd Hyderabad International Film Festival (HIFF) convenor Varaprasad. “There is a niche audience which understands and loves world cinema. Directors, technicians, writers and artistes who want to get inspired from international flicks are coming forward and watching the films. As are common people,” Varaprasad states as he reels out numbers to support his statement. “If 12 countries participated last year, this year, we have had 34 countries and around 45 foreign delegates taking part in it. And the crowds are thronging to watch the films.”
The festival fever is on and this films-n-dreams-filled week has seen the screening of movies of various genres. The fete, which concludes today, is nothing less than a mixed fare. If off-beat films from different languages, short films and documentaries were screened along with commercial successes like Happy Days, the same could not be said about the ‘big’ directors and actors who were conspicuously absent at the screenings. Directors Kondandarama Reddy, Muppalaneni Siva, veteran actor Gummadi and character artistes like Tanikella Bharani, L.B. Sriram and others took time to watch these films with international flavour.
Director Teja was present at the festival to understand international movies. “As a filmmaker, one needs to watch different genre of films to learn new styles in filmmaking. If we do not keep pace with the changing trends, we end up repeating the stories and shots in our films and we will stand exposed,” he points out. The Jayam director also believes a change in attitude is vital to strike a chord with the audience. “If some feel secure with a government job, the challenging ones take up different jobs or even become self-employed. Same is the case with filmmakers too. A few keep their audiences happy with the same kind of masala films while others want to explore and create different kind of cinema.” Director-turned-movie-buff Dasarath has enjoyed watching films like Ambush and Inner Circle at the festival but his heart beats for Telugu cinema. “Our films are on par with international films. The song and dance format is part of our festivals and lifestyle which gets reflected in our films too,” he says. The Telugu film industry has also not had a complete representation. “Even in other international film festivals, it is actors like Tabu and Revathi who take time out to participate. Popular stars like Shah Rukh Khan shine only at the opening ceremonies. So why point fingers at our stars,” he asks.
Agrees Varaprasad, “One cannot blame the directors as they are held up with their new flicks. Like Y.V.S. Chowdary who is busy with his new film Okka Mogadu starring Balakrishna, which is to release on Friday. Same could be the case of other filmmakers also.”
Filmmaker Jeevitha loves to be festival savvy to understand what others are thinking. “I could not enjoy the movies as I have to take care of my family and children. But I hope to get the CDs and watch it on my DVD.” she smiles.
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