The annual two-day-long Chandigarh Music And Film Festival (CMFF) kicked off today at Chandigarh University Gharuan, with renowned filmmakers and artists from Hindi film industry including Imtiyaz Ali, Saurabh Shukla, Abhishek Dudhia among others enlightened the audience with their insights into the art.As many as 150 short films made by students of Film Schools are being screened during the Festival, which also witnessed Imtiyaz Ali’s Talk Show with senior journalist and author Kaveree Bamzai and interaction with University Institute of Film and Media Studies giving a glimpse into finer nuances of filmmaking, current trends in the cinema industry as well as his journey in the Bollywood.Punjab Legislative Assembly Speaker S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan was the chief guest while S. Satnam Singh Sandhu, Chancellor, Chandigarh University was the special guest during the inaugural ceremony which also featured famed celebrities like Akhilender Mishra, Rana Jung Bahadur, KC Bokadia, Preeti Sapru, Saurabh Shukla, Gavy Chahal, Duleep Singh, Dev Sharma, Dilip Sen, Darshan Aulakh and several other eminent personalities.
In his address, Speaker S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan said, “The heritage and culture of Punjab is amongst the richest and cinema would prove to be an important platform to make the young generation aware about it. Punjab would be created as a land of opportunity for the youth heading abroad and the way out is Agri-Culture.”Praising the efforts and infrastructure of Chandigarh University, Sandhwan said that he believes that the university is capable of preserving and promoting the culture of Punjab.Speaking on the occasion, renowned director Imtiaz Ali said that the fertile land of Punjab has the blessings of Gurus and saints. “Punjab smells of love, whether it is the stories, the music or even the crops. This land is blessed and it is the duty of everyone here to take care of the heritage of Punjab, its rivers and its environment, for the future generations to see and experience this divinity,” he said, adding that Cinema has the power to go into the past or future.
Famed actor, screenwriter, and film director Saurabh Shukla applauded the organisers for organising this festival and said that films are means of expression and allow us to tell stories in sublime way, while veteran filmmaker K C Bokadia expressed his gratitude to the organisers for the festival, saying it gave them the opportunity to be together at one stage after so long.Speaking on the occasion, famed actress Preeti Sapru said that Punjab deserves to prosper in a way that one should not even think of leaving this great land for another country.“There is no Punjab without Punjabi’s. We need to preserve all the good things about our history and contribute towards their preservation,” she said, adding that efforts of Satnam Singh Sandhu towards the promotion of art and culture of Punjab were huge and would go a long way in its preservation.
In his address, S. Satnam Singh Sandhu, Chancellor, Chandigarh University, said, “Cinema is the medium of expression of ideas and thoughts. It is thus important that art in the form of cinema is preserved and promoted, and in this light, festivals like these assume greater significance. While this gathering does no justice to the stars present here, I propose that a bigger festival be organised later this year, with 50 thousand in attendance to be inspired from these personalities.”On the second day of the festival, the star-studded event will witness the presence of The Kashmir File Director Vivek Agnihotri, and Actress Pallavi Joshi, along with exclusive talk shows with Saurabh Shukla, Abhishek Dudhaiya and Akhilendra Mishra, even as many as 150 short films made by students of Film Schools are being screened during the Festival.