It`s India all the way at Berlinale 2010

Berlin: Indian cinema is in the spotlight at this year`s Berlin International Film Festival which is showcasing an impressive selection of films from the country, with Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'My Name Is Khan' leading the way.The 60th anniversary edition of the Berlinale is featuring for the first time nine Indian films in its main programmes and they have generated an unprecedented interest among festival visitors.

Indian attractions at the ten-day film festival range from film classics such as Satyajit Ray`s "Charulata" and Shyam Benegal`s "Manthan" to the latest Bollywood productions like "MNIK", Abhay Deol starrer "Road, Movie" and the Aamir Khan production "Peepli Live". This year`s presentation of Indian films is the largest since the Berlin Film Festival featured a "Panorama of Indian Cinema" in its Forum section more than three decades ago. Hundreds of film enthusiasts have been flocking theatres across this capital city to watch Indian films since the `Bollywood euphoria` sparked off by the sensational European premiere of "MNIK" at the start of the festival five days ago. The tickets for the premiere show of the film, which marks the reunion of Bollywood`s favourite on-screen couple Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, were sold out in five seconds. Also eagerly awaited by the Berlinale film enthusiasts is Thursday`s European premiere of the Aamir Khan production "Peepli Live". Directed by Anusha Rijvi, the film a satiric portrayal of the plight of debt-ridden Indian farmers, and is a part of the official Berlinale Special programme. This is the second time that an Indian film gets a slot in this new section, after Shah Rukh Khan`s film "Om Shanti Om", which gained a breakthrough in Europe after its screening in the Special programme in 2008. Festival organizes told reporters that even though the Karan Johar film was one of the most sought after movies during the first five days of the festival, the public demand for tickets have been great also for other Indian films shown so far. They include Dev Benegal`s "Road, Movie", which opened the children`s and youth film programme `Generation 14 plus` along with the Marathi film "Vihir". "MNIK" was screened out of competition in the main competition section, the highest slot ever given to a Bollywood production at the Berlin film festival, and all the three screenings it had so far were watched by sell-out crowds. A final screening of the film scheduled for Sunday night will bring down the curtain for this anniversary event of the Berlin Film Festival. Dev Benegal`s "Road, Movie", which is about a rusty touring cinema has been hailed at the Berlin Film Festival as a "truly moving homage to the Indian cinema". Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni`s "Vihir" deals with a young boy trying to cope with the passing away of his cousin, who was also his best friend, in a village in Maharashtra. The European premiere of Bengali film "Aarekti Premer Golpo" (Just Another Love Story) by Kaushik Ganguly and Rituparno Ghosh will be a highlight of this year`s Panorama section. In the Forum section, India is represented by "Paltadacho Munis" (The Man Beyond the Bridge), a Konkani film by Laxmikant Shetgaonkar and "Cinema City Installation" by Zubin Pastakia. For the first time, India is represented in the Culinary Cinema, a section focusing on cinematic delicacies devoted to food, nature and ecology by Shyam Benegal`s classic "Manthan". Produced in 1976, the film deals with the setting up of a dairy cooperative based on real events. This year`s Retrospective section, which is dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Berlin film Festival, presents Satyajit Ray`s "Charulata", produced in 1963-64, among the film rarities of the festival`s pioneering years. This programme also features the Indo-US coproduction "The River", the first colour film by Jean Renoir, which was produced during 1949-51. PTI