Shanghai Corporation Organization (SCO) Film Festival begins in Mumbai. The five-day festival was inaugurated by lighting the lamp Akshay Kumar, tiger shroffUnion Minister of Information and Broadcasting including Hema Malini, Poonam Dhillon Anurag ThakurWho said that the lines between regional and international cinema have blurred as there are no boundaries for good content.
“Someone asked me about regional or how it is an international thing here, today nothing is regional if content has power, it will go from regional to national and international. Keep creating good content, there is no limit to good content. It (‘Apatha’) is going to bring good news at the box office and will be seen worldwide.”
The minister said that 2023 is an important year for the country for two reasons: India is hosting the G20 summit and is holding the presidency of the SCO. Stating that the festival aims to build cinematic partnerships, conduct exchange programmes, nurture young filmmaking talent and act as a bridge between the cultures of this unique region.
The film festival is being organized by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) in association with the SCO Council of States.
When Thakur asked Kumar if he was open to acting in international films, the 55-year-old actor said, “I believe in being self-reliant and will do Indian films.”
Shroff, on the other hand, said that he is open to acting in international films and believes that cinema has no language. He said, “Film transcends boundaries, it is a visual medium and creativity knows no language. I am very happy to be here and be a part of this event and celebrate Indian cinema and its evolution, and of course From world cinema and all countries participated in it and showed their talent.
According to Hema Malini, film festivals play a huge role in an actor’s growing popularity outside India. “A lot can happen through the festival. Like, (for) there is participation of Russia, China, Uzbekistan and other (countries) in the SCO Film Festival, it is a good thing and the result will be good. Long ago, I saw an India -Russia collaboration film, ‘Alibaba and 40 Thieves’ and because of that a lot of people know me (in that country),” said the veteran star.
The actor-politician lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he is doing amazing work globally for the country. “Globally we are leading the G20, Modi ji is doing a great job and this will give a boost to the film industry as well,” he said.
Kirti Kulhari, Esha Gupta, Harshita Bhatt, and actors like Jackky Bhagnani, Poonam Dhillon, Elli Avram, filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala also marked their presence at the festival.
Anurag Thakur on ‘boycott Bollywood’ trend
Anurag Thakur talked about the mass boycott trend. He said, ‘I would say two things on this, the Government of India has created the Central Board of Film Certification and all films have to be approved by that. A film is released in theaters only after getting approval from CBFC. Any objection they mail to us and we discuss it with CBFC.”
He further added, “As far as OTT is concerned, we opted for self-certification mode to avoid restriction on creativity. If anyone has any complaint then there are 3 stages i.e. producer level, association level and intro departmental committee level. Of 55%. Issues get resolved at first two levels. So I believe in a country like India where we want to develop our soft power, this type of discussion affects us and the environment. Ever Sometimes people create problems without even knowing the subject, which should be understood and will not be done.”