'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' draws huge crowd at Toronto film festival : Bollywood News : ApunKaChoice.Com


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Karan Johar

'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' draws huge crowd at Toronto film festival
11th Sept 2006 14.00 IST
By Agencies

Karan Johar 's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna drew a huge crowd of film buffs at the screening of the movie during the 31st Toronto International Film Festival.

The film enthusiasts who gathered outside the Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto on Sunday let out ear-splitting cheers as they sighted Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan , who attended the ceremony.

The film was screened at 'Gala Presentation' section, a slot generally reserved for high-profile blockbusters or premiers.

After the screening, the casts of the film joined Johar on the stage for a conversation moderated by Suketu Mehta, author of the award-winning book, 'Maximum City'.

Other Indian celebrities who were present on the occasion were Nandita Das , who is the lead actress in Chitra Palekar's debut Marathi-language film 'Maati Maay' and John Abraham .

But the presence of Bachchan, SRK and Johar notwithstanding, a press conference in Toronto ahead of the screening of 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' was rather sparsely attended.

Whether this was due to the 9.30 a.m. slot or otherwise, the press meet at the Sutton Place Hotel attracted more shutterbugs than pen pushers and more North America-based Indian freelancers than international journos.

Even so, the three high-profile men on the panel were in their elements as they fielded questions about their film as well as about Bollywood's position in the global context.

Both Johar and SRK stressed that it was crucial for Bollywood to constantly participate in international film festivals in order to further its overall strategy to go global.

Johar said: "I do not come to a major international platform like this because of any immediate commercial reason. Whether I am in Toronto or in Cannes, my primary intention is to sensitise the world not just to my own film but to Indian cinema as a whole.

"We have a unique format of storytelling and we should be proud of it. But it is always a good idea to look for global exposure for the beautiful movies that we make," said the director.

SRK said: "I have been to a few international film festivals. It is not enough to merely take a particular film to a global audience. It is important for us to explain to the market why Bollywood films continue to thrive despite growing competition from Hollywood.

"Conversely, we should also try and understand how global producers, distributors and exhibitors operate and tell them that we are ready to do business with them."

But both Johar and SRK insisted that Bollywood must not sacrifice its internationally recognised USP - the song and dance and high drama-driven narrative style.

"We should find our place in the world without sacrificing our intrinsic character," SRK asserted.

(The picture shows SRK and Rani Mukherjee in a scene from the film.)

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Karan Johar
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
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