The IFFI 'tamasha' that shows no sign of turning over a new leaf

Cinema is an amazing platform for entertainment, and, yes, education too.

- Gautaman Bhaskaran

And film festivals at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Cairo, El Gouna, Goa and so on have provided an excellent opportunity for producers, directors and actors to not only display their myriad talents and creations, but also present social and cultural facets of different countries and their people.

The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which began its run in the Nehruvian era over five decades ago – and which is now on in Goa's Panaji – was first mooted as a venue for showcasing the mind-boggling diversity of our country through cinema that celebrities like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Raj Kapoor, Kamal Hassan, Mani Ratnam and so many more helped create. Viewers were also treated to the choicest of world cinema.