Decades ago, there were societies like Cine Montage or Indo Russian Film Association that brought serious cinema to movie buffs of Orange City.
Now, they have to go to cities like Pune or Mumbai to enjoy niche movies, or download them from the net, thank God for Torrent. So naturally the first International Film Festival at Nagpur (IFFN) has caused a buzz.
Of course there is an odd Shakespearean play performed on the stage here or a Gulzar might come down with his readings of Kusumagraj, but are there people here who will actually take time out from their `busy' schedule to see Harishchandrachi Factory or The Bicycle Thieves or yesterday's Saamna? Well, apparently there are. Like S S Pujari, the 60-plus-year old who came in with his wife to catch screening of the Jabbar Patel's Saamna, a very well known Marathi film.
"Nagpur does not have the crowd for such cultural activities, since its not culturally as developed as Pune or Mumbai, but its still on the better side," he says. His wife Sudha believes "the youngsters in the city are more interested in the commercial cinema rather than the films being shown at the festival". The Wassup generation, generally perceived as brash and irresponsible, seems to prove her wrong. Shantanu, a student, says, "I haven't seen the film as yet, and I have not come here expecting anything. I'm here to enjoy some beer which they are selling. Also, it's a relief from the dhinchak-dhinchak routine of the mainstream films. I am looking forward to films from Italy or Russia."
There is also a good number professionals coming to see what serious cinema is all about. Dr Sneha Hingway, came with her son in the middle of a working day, just so that she could catch Saamna. The screening left her disappointed. "We came here expecting to see a path-breaking film of its time but the reel is broken. Maybe it wasn't checked properly before being screened. So now they are showing Harishchandrachi Factory once again, even though it was screened yesterday. I've already seen that," she said although she is ready to let it pass as a blip. "Overall, the festival is a great initiative. People are definitely interested in seeing foreign language films too, and I am glad they are showing them," she added.
Malini Menon, a dancer who also teaches Mohiniattam, agrees. "Although this is the first attempt and Nagpur may not be ready for this sort of activity, it may be as prelude. There may be more people coming in to see Marathi films but we need more film festivals to concentrate on other languages as well. Not just foreign languages but various Indian languages as well," she says.
Everybody agrees that this city needs to grow culturally, and this will happen if more and more such festivals are held. People will grow only if they are exposed to new things. So maybe, after all, Nagpur has arrived in a big way on the cultural map, or maybe not? Maybe, we will know when the next festival is organized.