'Indian cinema brought hopes for the poor'

He was speaking at the inaugural of the Tagore Film Festival - 2010 organised by the Sahamatha Film Society in association with the Samudaya Mangalore at the Srinivas Institute of Management Studies here on Saturday. Basavalingaiah said that the Indian cinemas played major role to root out the communal hatred in the society.
“Cinema is an apt medium to educate the society,” he added. Lauding the contributions of eminent filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Basavalingaiah said that one can not find nudity or vulgarity in his movies.

“Some films show women characters with very less dress to attract the audience. It is unfortunate that an actress can become a celebrity star only if she reveals her body in films,” he lamented.

Talking about the works of Rabindranath Tagore, Basavalingaiah said, “he never approved male-dominated society, but instead, he gave equal prominece to women in the society.” Talking in a lighter vein on the increasing number of remake films, he said, “Kannada filmmakers are seen buying 11 Telugu film DVDs to make a 12th Kannada movie.” The cultural values of the land can not be seen in a remade films, he added.

He lamented that Kannadigas, who are busy in the world of globalisation, have no time to read the works of Kuvempu or any other litterateurs.

Delivering the inaugural address, noted writer Sara Aboobakker said that Tagore advocated the principle of humanity through his works. His poems teach young generation the values in life and he exposed superstition through his books, she said adding, “even after 100 years, the dreams of Tagore to make the nation free from the clutches of communal hatred has not been materialised.” Journalist Govind D  Belgaumkar spoke on the occasion.