Days of film fever begins in the capital

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The eight-day 16th International Film Festival of Kerala got off to a colourful start here on Friday with chief minister Oommen Chandy officially launching it in the presence of a wide spectrum of representatives, including from the film industry and politics. The chief guest, Bollywood actor Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan, in her address recounted her relation with the state ever since she came to the capital in 1991 to conduct the Children's Film Festival."I have fantastic memories about this land. I find the whole place has changed a lot and has become really beautiful," she said. Veteran actor Om Puri said the crowd that had gathered at the opening venue itself was an indicator towards how successful the festival would be. "You have a lot of things to be proud of. The entire country feels proud of Malayalis," he said.
The opening ceremony took the audience on a tour of the charismatic world of the rich cultural heritage of the state. A performance titled Niyathiyude Chathurangam (Destiny's Dice), portraying twenty-five characters from the great Indian epic Mahabharata, was the highlight of the function. The performance was conceived and directed by filmmaker T K Rajiv Kumar, based on the theme Dussasana Vadham. The festival catalogue was released by state cultural affairs minister K C Joseph by handing over a copy to Om Puri. The festival's bulletin was released by Shashi Tharoor, MP. The inaugural function was also attended by cinema minister K B Ganesh Kumar, transport and devaswom minister V S Sivakumar, veteran film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman S Priyadarshan, veteran film actor Sukumari and film directors Lenin Rajendran and Harikumar, among others.