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7th Pune Film Festival Begins At The Ganesh Kala Krida Manch


By ugesh sarkar, Section Pune Festival
Posted on Fri Jan 09, 2009 at 11:22:36 PM EST

Calling Pune the cradle of Indian culture over centuries and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi not just a Bharat Ratna awardee but a Bharat Ratna in the
true sense of the term, minister of state for external affairs and information and broadcasting Anand Sharma inaugurated the seventh edition of the Pune International Film Festival (Piff) amidst much fanfare on Thursday evening at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch. "Piff is a notable festival offering a great platform not just to international and national filmmakers, but also to the young and budding filmmakers in the city and the state," he said. Saying that the festival is not only for the city or the state, but for the entire country, Sharma said the government is ready to support this annual event whenever required.

The festival began with a tribute by Shriniwas Joshi, son and disciple of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, to whom this edition of the festival is dedicated. "I'm thankful to the organisers and all of you for dedicating this festival to my father," Joshi said before performing the dhanashree puria raag and the abhang Deva Vitthala' to loud applause.

The inauguration ceremony was marked by the presence of well-known names including politicians, film starts and national and international filmmakers among others. Present were deputy chief minister of Maharashtra Chhagan Bhujbal, state culture minister Harshvardhan Patil, MP Suresh Kalmadi, Pune mayor Rajlaxmi Bhosale, director and vice-chairperson of Piff Jabbar Patel and Sabina Sanghvi, film stars Sulochana, Shashi Kapoor, Hema Malini, Randhir Kapoor, Tabu, Mohan Agashe and also filmmakers like Girish Kasaravalli and Alain Corneau, who is also part of the jury.

This year, the Piff lifetime achievement award, the annual honour, was conferred to actors Sulochana, Shashi Kapoor and Hema Malini. "I'm overwhelmed and do not know what to say. I thank all of you for this honour and the love showered on me," said a visibly emotional Sulochana.

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While actor Randhir Kapoor thanked the organisers on behalf of Shashi Kapoor, he also showed gratitude for remembering his father Raj Kapoor through a retrospective.

"I'm honoured to be receiving this award on a stage on which I have had the good fortune to perform many a times. But this award does not mean that I will take a backseat. I intend to continue my association with cinema and the stage," a gracious Hema Malini said after receiving the award.

In his speech, Kalmadi talked about the city gaining global recognition thanks to the success of the Commonwealth Youth Games and also spoke about the plans to introduce a special sports section at the Piff next year in anticipation of the Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi. "I also request the honourable ministers present here to make Piff the official film festival of the state," he added.

Also speaking on the occasion was Jabbar Patel, who thanked everyone for making Piff a huge success for the last seven years. "This time, we have also decided to conduct a workshop for aspiring screenplay writers in memory of the late Vijay Tendulkar," he said.

Assuring everyone that the government would consider making Piff the official film festival of the state, Harshvardhan Patil said, "We have also forwarded a proposal to the government asking for Rs 50 lakh for the festival," he added.

The ceremony ended with the screening of the award-winning French-Iranian-English animation film Persepolis'.

Source: Times Of India 7th Pune film festival begins

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