International Children's Film Festival At Hyderabad

HYDERABAD:The 19th International Children’s Film Festival of India (ICFFI) got off to a colourful start here on Saturday night. Union minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore inaugurated the festival. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said  there is a possibility of the city becoming the permanent venue for the Children’s Film Festival. “Among the 1,204 entries from 80 different countries, nearly 180 films are made by children themselves. This is really appreciable and I want the number to increase in the future.

India as a country has a great story telling tradition. Children should just take their parents phones or camera and shoot those tales. There is immense potential in the present generation children and all they need is proper direction,”  he said. He also appreciated the efforts taken by the Telangana government in organising the event.

The event was graced by Bollywood stars Kareena Kapoor, Karishma Kapoor, Tabu, Mukesh Khanna among others while popular film and television actress Gauhar Khan and India’s got talent sensation, Akshat Singh were also present. More than 1,000 children attended the event.

Cinemotagraphy minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav,  who presided the event said that the state government has left no stone unturned in making this event a grand success. He said students, who have come from far off places are being given proper accommodation, transport and food.

Kareena and Karishma shaked their legs along with Akshat to the tunes of ‘Selfie le le re’ and enthralled the children. Kareena said she was elated that a short film made by her niece has been selected for competition in he festival.  She said, “I am very happy to be a part of this event. I want more and more young talents to blossom. I am a proud aunt today.”

Karishma Kapoor, the elated mother spoke about how children should follow their dreams and how parents should stand by their children in their endevours.

Sunil Aurora, secretary,  I&B ministry, Tabu and Mukesh Khanna too addressed the gathering. The event was followed by cultural programmes by the children.

Prior to the inauguration, a mobile app of Children’s Film Society India was launched by the Kapoor sisters, Tabu, Mukesh Khanna and Shravan Kumar, director of the festival at Trident Hotel in Hitec City. Shravan Kumar announced that the app is user-friendly and people can watch children’s movies on their mobiles from any part of the world. “This app is available on Google playstore and in IOS. ‘’Considering the fact that children of this generation are extremely tech-savvy, we have decided to launch the app,” he further said.

 Source:newindianexpress.com