Gowariker honoured for making movies with a purpose

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Talented filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker was honoured at the concluding ceremony of the Worldkids International Film Festival (WIFF) here for providing 'entertainment with a purpose' through his films "Lagaan", "Swades" and "Jodhaa Akbar".

Gowariker, who is on the advisory board of WIFF, was awarded Thursday by Mikhail Miniatis, founder, Global Kids for Kids, an international initiative that encourages filmmakers aged below 16.

Gowariker said: "This is a special occasion. Whenever I used to work on a script, at the back of my mind I always had that I should pack a message. Also, children today are well equipped to express themselves.

"When I used to be a child, I was given a set of crayons and a sheet of paper. Today's kids have cameras. So I would ask them to go and shoot and express themselves and make great films," Gowariker said at the event.

Nafisa Ali, chairperson, Children's Film Society of India (CFSI), said: "Indian cinema needs more family-based entertainment and to attain that we need to consider it a crusade, a commitment and a revolution."

The seven-day fest was the first of its kind in the capital. It was aimed towards children and young adults, to familiarise them with different cultures and languages through the medium of cinema. Last year it was organised in Mumbai and visited Indore early this year.

Some of the films shown at the event included "An Inconvenient Truth" (US), "Red Like The Sky" (Italy), "Magnifico" (Philippines) and "Summer With The Ghosts" (Canada).

Children from several schools in the capital like Amity International, Vasant Valley, Tagore International, Sanskriti and others came to see the films.

A scriptwriting workshop by filmmaker Amole Gupte of "Taare Zameen Par" fame was also held for the students.

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Jodhaa Akbar