Bhavna Talwar's 'Dharm' goes to Cannes

New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) When a journalist decides to make a film, it has to be different, close to reality and an eye opener. That's exactly what scribe-turned-director Bhavna Talwar tries to achieve with her debut movie "Dharm" which will be premiered at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.

Bhavana said she has explored religious undercurrents through her camera and aimed to prove that humanity is the prime religion. The film will be showcased as the closing film of the 'Cinemas of the World' section at the festival, which is celebrating 60 years of its existence.

"I chose this subject because religion affects all of us today. Riots are happening on the basis of religion. The fact is that none of the religions send out such messages," Bhavana told IANS.

The film stars the versatile Pankaj Kapur and his talented wife Supriya Pathak. The first-time director says it wasn't so difficult to convince the veteran actor to do the role.

"I met him and told him about the story idea. He said that he would like to read the script first. So, I gave him the script and he liked it and gave it a go," said Talwar.

Set in Varanasi, the film follows a staunch Brahmin couple, played by Pankaj and Supriya, who give shelter to a Muslim boy.

"Dharm" is credited as India's first high-definition (HD) movie.

"We were looking at the various advantages of shooting with HD. It is cheaper and gives you lot of liberties in post-production. When S. Nallamuthu, the cinematographer, told me that he can handle it, I jumped at the idea," said Bhavana.

Asked about the expectations from the film, she said: "I don't have any expectations. I have done my best and I have made a film that I believe in."

Bhavana doesn't like this distinction between commercial and non-commercial films.

She says: "The whole idea is to make a good film. And every filmmaker wants his or her film to be commercial success and there is no harm in it."

It's more than a decade that any Indian film has made it to the competition section at Cannes.

"The moment we will come back to our culture and ethos we will get recognised. If you see films from France or Poland, they give you insight into their culture but a majority of our cinema is missing that."

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