Cannes, May 19 (PTI): If the audience response to screenings on the opening day of the India Focus programme at the Cannes Film Festival is any indication, the rub-off could prove to be quite significant in the long run for the world's largest movie industry.
The Tous les Cinemas du Monde section began this morning with the screening of "Saira", a Malayalam film directed by Dr Biju.
Also screened today were Mridul Toolsidas and Vinay Subramanian's "Missed Call", Rajkumar Hirani's "Lage Raho Munnabhai" and Vasantha Balan's Tamil-language "Veyil".
The directors of all four films were at hand to introduce them to the full house. Interestingly, an overwhelming majority of people who packed the auditorium were foreigners, film buyers and fans alike.
The two-day India Focus was preceded by the India Party hosted at the majestic Barriere Hotel beach jointly by the information and broadcasting ministry and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Friday night.
Hours later, the curtains went up on the India Focus in the Tous les Cinemas du Monde section this morning.
The wine-and-champagne party was a low-key but enjoyable affair. Present for the occasion were India's ambassador to France Ranjan Mathai, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Asha Swarup, Joint Secretary V B Pyarelal, producer Bobby Bedi, chairman of CII's entertainment committee, and Amit Khanna of Reliance Entertainment.
Neither Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi nor Cannes Film Festival president Gilles Jacob, both of whom were slated to attend, could make it to the party.
Among the guests spotted at the bash, which went on till the wee hours this morning, were Bollywood actresses Preity Zinta and Manisha Koirala, who landed in Cannes on Friday, and Masumi, filmmakers Mani Ratnam and Ketan Mehta and Paris-based writer-director Vijay Singh.
Kolkata filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh, who was in town, stayed away from the seafront party.
Among those watching the country's films with keen interest are programmers who select Indian movies for major international festivals.
However, one American programmer who went into a market screening of Camera d'Or-winner Murali Nair's "Unni" returned disappointed.
Among other Indian films being screened in the Cannes Film Market are the Saregama Films-funded "Karma, Confessions and Holi", Kaushi Roy's "My Own Sky" and Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "Eklavya".
Seven movies are part of the India Focus programme. Over 20 Indian showbiz companies are exhibiting their projects and products at the India Pavilion and exhibition area Palais. More than 80 companies from India, including 40 independent filmmakers, are at Cannes and have over 150 movies, mainly for the market.
Catherine Demier of the Cannes Film Festival, who formally opened the India Focus, described the section as a "treasure trove of cultural diversity, democracy and modernity in the new India".
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