International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in its 55th edition promised to bring music art, and culture to the heart of entertainment. Keeping that up Shri Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting along with Shri Akkineni Nagarjuna Rao, Eminent Film Actor and Producer, cut the ribbon to unveil the exhibition ‘Safarnama: Evolution of Indian Cinema’ at Kala Academy, Panaji, Goa. The multimedia exhibition is set up by Central Bureau of Communication, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting with a view to reach out to people regarding India’s rich cinematic tradition and history.

During the inauguration, Shri Jaju said that the history of Indian cinema dates back to the film Raja Harishchandra when India was under colonial rule. Even with that India managed to create a cinematic mind and that tradition has been kept intact till now. This particular initiative from IFFI aims to salute that rich heritage and showcase the traditions especially before the young students to entice their interest in Cinema and the rich cultural value we have inherited through it.

Well-known actor Shri Nagarjuna, while interacting with the media, gladly highlighted that for him Cinema is Indian and there is no language bar. He also mentioned that the legacy been established by his father Akkineni Nageswara Rao and also by the other centenarian legends like Raj Kapoor, Mohammed Rafi and Tapan Sinha were truly unprecedented.

In the ‘Safarnama’ Exhibition, four galleries are dedicated for the four legends whose centenary is being celebrated at IFFI this year – Raj Kapoor, Mohammed Rafi, Tapan Sinha and Akkineni Nageswara Rao. The Exhibition honours these four cinematic legends with curated content and rare archival materials, including posters, videos, and memorabilia, paying tribute to these iconic figures who shaped Indian cinema.

Open to the public from November 20 to 28, 2024, the Exhibition offers a dynamic exploration of Indian cinema’s journey from its early days to contemporary innovations. It is expected to attract a significant number of school students, making it an educational experience for the younger generation. The exhibition has the latest technological elements like Projection mapping, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Digital Quiz and Digital puzzles.

The event also witnessed the launch of KTB – Bharat Hain Hum, Animation Series Season-2, by Shri Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. The animated series on freedom fighters will stream from December 1st on Doordarshan, Netflix, Prime Video and WAVES along with a radio series on Akashvani and podcast on Spotify. The series will be available in 12 Indian languages—including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Assamese, and Odia—and seven international languages – French, German, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Chinese and Arabic making it accessible to a global audience in 150 countries, further amplifying its reach.

During the launch, a signature song was also released marking the tradition of Doordarshan and the future of WAVES, the new OTT Initiative by Prasar Bharati.

During the launch event, Shri Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO, Prasar Bharati; Shri Yogesh Baweja, DG, CBC; creators of the show, Munjal Shroff and Tilak Shetty of Graphiti Studios; Mahima Kaul, Director of Public Policy, Netflix India, and Shilangi Mukherji, Director & Head – SVOD, Prime Video were also present.

..

Ajay KR