Hyderabad: The newly introduced Bathukamma film festival at Ravindra Bharathi, Lakadikapul, is generating a lot of buzz as an innovative way to celebrate the week long state festival, which ends on September 27.
On Friday, Arjun Reddy, hailed as a game changer for the Telugu film industry, was screened, and though it was well attended, some viewers thought it ought not to have been shown.
Sreenidhi Paul, a resident of Begumpet said the film festival “is a good initiative by the government, and while it is good to have entertaining films also, Arjun Reddy has been a hotbed of controversy and could have been avoided.” Fida, which is also being screened, was chosen for its rustic Telugu dialect.
Sreenidhi Reddy, one of the organisers of the film festival, says, “We want to provide exposure to the dialect. By screening commercial films, we want to increase viewers as this is the first time we are organising a festival. We are also screening documentaries regarding the formation of Telangana.”
Organisers are also trying to promote the state festival with short videos about the same with voice overs describing the state festival.
Rahul Jain, a viewer from Banjara Hills, says, “Informative documentaries should be screened at film festivals. Many students are attending the film festival and they should know the history of the state’s formation.”
The film festival has been organised by the government of Telangana and around eight films will be screened in the course of the festival daily at 5 pm.
Rushi Malava, another viewer, is happy with the initiative. “Bathukamma existed before the formation of the state but it was not so widely celebrated. It is crucial for imparting information about the festival to next generations.
Kalagnanam, Campus and Bathukamma Patala Chitra talk about the struggle for the formation of the state.
