Laser show on Soudha pillars reflects state's cinema history

The history of cinema played out in a vibrant light show on the pillars of the Vidhana Soudha on Thursday evening. As part of the inauguration of Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) 2017, laser lights created a video map of the history of Kannada cinema and culture.

There was a collective gasp from the audience at the start of the show, when the Karnataka state flag dropped down on the pillars of the Soudha. Digital projections transformed the pillars into ornamental columns of a palace and then into sculpted posts of a temple. The Buddhist Golden Temple in Kodagu district and Channapatna toys also featured in the show.

The history of world cinema was traced on the backdrop, starting way back from the Lumiere brothers, pioneers of the motion-film camera. Scenes from Dadasaheb Phalke’s ‘Raja Harishchandra’ and Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’ flashed by as the contributions of Indian directors were highlighted. The audience cheered as popular actors Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan and director Puttanna Kanagal were shown on screen.

Speaking at the function, actor Puneeth Rajkumar said, “Good things are happening in the Kannada film industry with movies like ‘Thithi,’ ‘U-Turn’ and ‘Rama Rama Re’. I am also happy to know that 40 Kannada films are being screened in this festival.”

Artistes from the Kannada film industry interacted with fans who scrambled to get selfies clicked with them, at the high tea preceding the function. Actor Roopika Chandran said, “The film festival is a great platform to get exposed to world cinema. I hope to catch every film in this edition as I did last year,” she said.

Cui Ren, a director from China said, “When I was studying film in Beijing, I watched an Indian movie called ‘Song of the Wanderer’. I don’t remember the name of the director, but it left a very deep impression on me.” Ren’s directorial debut ‘Four Chinese Poems’ is entered in the Asian cinema competition of the festival.