'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara' screened at Karachi

Mumbai, Dec 3 (IANS) Anupam Kher is delighted over his "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara" being screened at the ongoing Karachi International Film Festival.

The film, directed by well-known Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Barua, is an elegiac and patriotic film and Anupam is the main protagonist.

"I've no clue how it was selected. But I agree it's one step ahead for the cultural glasnost between the two countries," said Anupam, before boarding his flight to Karachi.

Incidentally Anupam's wife Kirron made quite an impact in Pakistan with "Khamosh Pani". "Yes," concedes Anupam. "But that was a Pakistani film. 'Maine Gandhi...' is a totally Indian film."

Director Barua was not able to accompany producer Anupam. But he hopes the film can be publicly screened in Pakistan.

"Films like 'Black', 'Maine Gandhi...' and 'Page 3' don't belong to India alone. They've a universal message about the quality of human life and must be seen across the border," says Anupam.

While many other Indian entries were given a cold shoulder, Madhur Bhandarkar's "Page 3" was warmly welcomed by the audience when it was screened at the International Film festival of India in Goa on Tuesday.

The auditorium was jam-packed, people sat on the carpet on the floor and watched without moving, and the foreign audiences too loved it.

No other Indian film was so well-received at the festival.

Says Bhandarkar, "I couldn't believe the response the film got in Goa. It's a year since it was commercially released. And it's still provoking such strong responses. I had foreigners coming up to me at the party in the evening to ask strange questions about the lifestyle shown in 'Page 3'. Now I'm getting scared about 'Corporate'. Will it be able to live up to expectations?"

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Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara