Film maker-producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra Friday said Indian filmmakers need to watch world cinema to grow or else the industry will keep making stupid movies.
“I come from a small village in Kashmir and I have seen only Hindi movies. Unless we see world cinema how will we grow? If we don’t watch world cinema we will keep making stupid films. Today I met two to three film makers and I felt great that people take out time and come here to watch movies,” Chopra told reporters at the 16th MAMI film festival.
“I feel it’s not just about world cinema… even regional cinema is doing well. For me the bottom line is cinema is doing well and that’s great. All kinds of cinema should get exposure and be seen across the world. All kinds of cinema are great but our cinema is greater.”
Film-maker Anurag Kashyap presented one of Chopra’s most successful films ‘Parinda’ in the presence of its lead actors Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff. The film also had Madhuri Dixit and Nana Patekar in lead roles.
While this year the MAMI film festival saw many celebrities being part of it, Chopra says star power helps the festival.
“I am extremely thankful to Reliance who backed MAMI for so many years. This year the festival happened only because of movie lovers. All the stars who attended the opening ceremony had come there because of their love for cinema, not because they were paid be it Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Akshay Kumar etc. This is for the first time all of them have come together and supported. I think star power is essential.
” The 16th MAMI film festival will continue till Oct 21.
IANS
Vidhu Vinod Chopra