Panjim, November 25
As the 45th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) reached midway, the visible enthusiasm might have waned somewhat, but the interest of cinephiles didn’t.

Clearly, the toast of the festival is internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf whose films, be it the opening film “The President” or “Salaam Cinema”, are being lapped up by movie lovers with enthusiasm and admiration and even repeat shows are going houseful. If his film “A Moment of Innocence” which the maker himself calls the ‘soul of his being’ and in tune with the Gandhian spirit of forgiveness, had viewers such as Bangladeshi filmmaker Abu Shahed Eman gushing unable to shake off the impact of the film. Kandhar’s repeat screening too evinced keen interest.

BBC’s documentary “Daddy’s School” reflecting on the life of the awarded maker couldn’t hold the viewers’ attention when screened on Monday night. Unmindful of the maker’s presence in the auditorium, people walked out every few minutes. If many movies fail to interest viewers, all-time greats like “Godfather” have them all enthused.

Flashes of what makes Marathi cinema so big is evident in the long queues for the screening of films such as “Mitra”. A total of 10 Marathi films will be screened during the IFFI and one ‘Ek Hazarachi Note’ happens to be one of the two Indian films which will be competing for the most coveted award — The Golden Peacock — in the competition section. But then Marathi film industry has actors like Nana Patekar backing meaningful films such as “Dr Prakash Baba Amte”, which have been screened at the IFFI. The star actor who plays the lead part of “Dr Prakash Amte”, son of Baba Amte in the film, too kept his date with the IFFI. He spoke at length about why films on such great people who have made enormous personal sacrifices to serve the society should be made.

And why Punjabi cinema continues to lag behind, doesn’t get the same respect and is not as often feted at international festivals as other regional cinema was deliberated upon at the NFDC’s Film Bazar when it concluded on Monday.

As Punjab’s hugely successful director Anurag Singh and one of Punjabi film industry’s most prolific producers Manjit Maan participated in the NFDC’s knowledge series, they spoke about the challenges in making content-driven cinema. Maan lamented that in a state where people don’t even know who Waris Shah is and what selection of a movie in the Indian Panorama at the IFFI means, what can you expect, either from the government or the audiences. Singh agreed and observed that most movies in Punjab start as a token of friendship rather than as organised and professional endeavours.

The mainstream Punjabi cinema might be shy of tackling Punjab’s serious concerns in its films, documentary filmmaker couple Kavita Bahl and Nandan Saxena have recorded the grim reality of farmers’ suicides and the unenviable plight as well as the stoic courage of the widows left behind. Their film “Candles in the Wind” screened on Tuesday made for some stirring viewing. Bahl said they were already working on the impact of the Green Revolution in Punjab.