Culture of festivals needed: Rai

BANGALORE: Creating a culture of film festivals will be the right step forward in regaining the glory of Kannada films from the 1970s. Actor-producer Prakash Rai, who has transcended linguistic boundaries and emerged as one of the finest actors on the southern screen, believes that the mobilization of a culture of good films is critical for the future of Kannada cinema.
"We've had some excellent filmmakers in the 1970s but we've lost the trend somewhere. The quality will return, no doubt... but it's not that only other languages have great films. Directors like Girish (Kasaravalli) and B Suresh are making good films here," Rai told reporters on Friday, on the sidelines of the Bengalooru International Film Festival (Biffes 2009).
The actor reiterated that culturally-rooted films with a universal appeal will be the way forward to global acceptance. He cited the example of Ang Lee's `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' that wowed the critics and viewers the world over, to back his contention.
`Kanjeevaram' on showcase
Priyadarshan's `Kanjeevaram', with Rai in the lead, was screened as part of the festival, on Friday. Rai rated it as Priyadarshan's best work. "This is a story that has been with Priyan for about 12 years. The film has also helped me unlearn certain things carried over from some other films. `Kanjeevaram' is a work of different people driven by a passion for good cinema,'' he said.
When asked for the reason for shooting the film (set in the 1940s) in Melkote, the actor said the decision was taken because Kanjeevaram, as a town, had been "abused'' and could not meet the period film's requirements.
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
* Vision Cinema, auditorium 1: Double Portrait (Poland), Seven Pounds (USA), The man Without a Past (Finland), Akasa Kusum (Sri Lanka), Tied Hands (Israel)
* Vision Cinema, auditorium 2: Three Monkeys (Turkey), Ben-X (Belgium), Coast Guard (Korea), The Chorus (France), Time (Korea)
* K H Patil Auditorium (digital format): A Caixa (Portugal), Fear Eats the Soul (Germany), Hashi (Japan)
* K H Patil Auditorium (Kannada films): Deveeri, Artha
* Suchitra Hall: The Letter (Portugal), An Inning of Life (Marathi), Hiroshima Mon Amor (France)
* Badami House (Kannada films): Surya, Janumada Jodi
For details, log on to www.biffes.in