Change in the air: Patna now abuzz with festivals

Change in the air: Patna now abuzz with festivals

PATNA, FEBRUARY 12: The capital of Bihar is abuzz with cultural activities these days, for a change. The people of Patna are savouring the two events, International Film Festival, and the National Youth Festival, being hosted in Patna. While the week-long film festival opened yesterday, the three-day 11th National Youth Festival (NYF) kicks off tomorrow. More than 5,000 youths from all the states have reached Patna for the NYF.
The International Film Festival is being staged in the city after two decades. Although arrangements for the festival are not as good as compared to other cities, people here have welcomed the pleasant beginning. ‘‘It’s our first experience at organising such a festival. We are learning and the next time we hope to organise a bigger festival,’’ said Information and Public Relations secretary Vivek Kumar Singh.

Twenty-four films from countries, including India, Iran, Canada and China, are being screened. The inaugural film was Sudhir Mishra’s, Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi, and the director was present on the occasion.

He held an interactive session with film buffs and the media after the screening. The film based on the Naxal movement in Bihar was highly appreciated by the audience. Some of the other films to be screened are Guru Dutt’s Pyasa, Gautam Ghose’s Abar Aranya, Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool, besides Mother India, The Cousin (French), and Afghan Letter (Iran).

The festival is being jointly organised by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Directorate of Film Festival, National Film Archives of India, Federation of Film Society of India and the state government.
However, no noted personality of the film world from the state like Prakash Jha, Shatrughan Sinha, or Manoj Bajpai were present at the inaugural function. Despite being in town, Prakash Jha did not attend the function and when asked he said he was unaware of the festival. The organisers said that they had refrained from inviting big stars since the crowd would have become unmanageable inside the small auditorium.

Meanwhile, cultural troupes from across the country have reached the city for the NYF. Almost all the big and small auditoriums in the city are getting ready for staging folk dance and drama.
‘‘It’s a pleasant change to see such activities happening in Patna which has become infamous for crime and criminals,’’ pointed out Sugandha, a college student standing in queue to obtain a pass for the film festival.