Talak tackles disgruntled delegates on Day 2 at ESG

Panaji: It’s the same old story, but with a different twist. A couple of dozen disappointed delegates standing in queue outside Marquinez Palace screen 1 even though the movie had begun. Denied admission to the screening of Krzystof Zanussi’s ‘Foreign Body’, a few of these disgruntled delegates began to vent out their anger and nearly got into a scuffle with the volunteers who helplessly explained that it wasn’t their fault. The delegates continued to yell and swear at the organizers, but refused to get out of line and even tried to push their way through the entrance giving a hard time for the young volunteers, until filmmaker Rajendra Talak came to their rescue. “These people just expect us to flex all the rules for them. There needs to be some discipline and we have strictly mentioned that we are going to be punctual,” said an angry Talak, pointing out to the movie ticket that clearly reads – ‘Entry to the theatre will be closed once the movie starts’. “They expect us to allow them to sit on the floor or stand in the aisle. This is not feasible. It is not a public screening at the beach. Security reasons don’t permit us to pack the auditorium. If something goes wrong, the same people will blame us for overcrowding the theatre,” said Talak, who is also the executive council member of Iffi 2014.Ehsan Muzid, a filmmaker from Guwahati, who was stuck in queue was heard screaming, “This is a joke. Goa has no cinematic culture. If they don’t have the infrastructure, then why are they inviting thousands of delegates? I have travelled thousands of miles to get here and just because I was a few minutes late, they deny me an entry. Nothing has changed; the festival has not matured at all.”Talak refuted accusations that the organizers have failed to learn from last year’s mistakes and instead asked the delegates to be on time and not to expect them to bend the rules for them.