Children's film festival a big draw

PUNE: Although the mainstream Indian cinema mostly metes out step-motherly treatment to children''s films, the little ones never fail to provide a hearty response to children''s film festivals in the city.
This was demonstrated once again by the turnout at the inauguration of the 11th children''s film festival, organised by Samvad at Vijay theatre on Friday.The organisers could not have chosen a better movie to flag off the festival than 1953 Marathi classic Shyamchi Aai, which celebrated its golden jubilee.
Interestingly, theatre director Madhav Vaze, who played the unforgettable role of Shyam in the movie, was present on the occasion. The little ones in the audience, who laughed and cried with every moment, perhaps paid the best tribute ever to the timelessness of the movie, based on a novel of the same name by Sane Guruji.
Sharing anecdotes with the audience, Vaze said, "Films like Shyamchi Aai help us inculcate family family values, ethics and moral principles."
Film makers Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar, whose film Dahavi-Pha (10th F) is to be screened during the festival,were also present on the first day of the film festival.
The week-long festival will screen Scooby Doo on April 12, Ek Bandar Hotel Ke Andar on April 13, Dahavi-F on April 14, Ice Age on April 15, Veer Savarkar on April 16 and Makdee on April 17. All film screenings start at 9 am.