Nagpur Film Fest opens with packed screenings

Nagpur: The second edition of Nagpur Film Festival (NFF) opened on Friday with packed screenings and strong audience turnout, setting the tone for its three-day run from March 28 to 30. The opening day saw the screening of 63 films, largely by Nagpur-based filmmakers, covering themes such as drug abuse, menstrual awareness, voting rights, and other socially relevant subjects.The festival this year has been curated as a tribute to cinema personalities who passed away in 2025, with organisers paying homage to veteran actor Dharmendra, ad guru Piyush Pandey, and actor-comedian Satish Shah during the inauguration ceremony. Reflecting this theme, venues have been named after legends, including Guru Dutt and Dharmendra, lending a commemorative layer to the festival's programming.Alongside screenings, a key highlight of day one was a workshop on artificial intelligence in filmmaking, where startup founders Kaustubh Agrawal and Ajinkya Takawale outlined how AI could significantly transform the industry. They duo said AI has the potential to cut production costs by up to 80-90% and reduce dependence on traditional resources such as cameras, actors, and large crews."Filmmaking was earlier limited to a select few. Now, you don't need a camera or even people," Agrawal said, describing AI as the next major leap after CGI in storytelling. Demonstrating its potential, he cited a case where a space battle scene was created using AI in four days at a cost of Rs20,000 — far lower than conventional production budgets.Takawale noted that AI is already disrupting the most expensive stage of filmmaking — production. "A feature film costing Rs2 crore to Rs50 crore can now be made at less than 20% of that budget," he said, pointing to savings on sets, locations, and costumes, particularly in period films.However, both speakers underlined that post-production still relies heavily on human input. Editing, they said, remains instinct-driven, with AI yet to match human understanding of emotional rhythm and narrative depth. They also flagged challenges such as inconsistent outputs in Indian-style animation due to limited training data, though improvements are expected in the near future.As the festival progresses, a mix of screenings, workshops, and discussions is expected to continue, positioning NFF as a platform that blends regional storytelling with emerging technological shifts in filmmaking. On Saturday, the official inauguration ceremony is scheduled to be inaugurated by well-known actor Randeep Hooda and Uri-fame writer, director, actor Yogesh Soman.BoxIndian storytelling differs from West, says screenwriter KordeRenowned Indian screenplay writer Manisha Korde said on Friday that a major difference between Indian films and Hollywood films is that they work on behavioural science and we work a lot with dialogues and narration, which is also the reason why very few Indian films make it to the Oscars, reports Gouri Gokhale. Speaking in the dialogue writing session of the NFF, she explained that in India, the Epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata have been spread through folklore, and we Indians are fond of kirtans and kathans, we like everything said, hence the films which are usually made in India have a lot of dialogue work, and that makes our writing texture different from the Hollywood films. Korde worked for various films like Hungama 2, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Malamaal Weekly, and Dhol. Korde also shed light on Indian films like ‘Gandhi Talks', which have received international acclaim, yet very few in India have seen the film.