All good things come to an end. The iffi did too. It was a wonderful experience and I come back refreshed and rejuvenated, that's the good part of it. The sad part is that I could not find many Films of world standards from India. Indian movies continue to suffer either from melodrama or from lack of ingenuity. Tanuja Chandra's "Hope and a little sugar' was at best, mediocre. Tanuja shows promise as ever but doesn't dare to rise above her own self. It was a Film based on the 9/11 world trade center bombings with hatred as its theme, and despite trying performances, the script pulls the Film down.

I watched somewhere around 30 Films from the more than 150 Films screened. Just not enough time to see all of them. I wish the festival is held for longer than just 11 days. Missed a lot of good films. "Things behind the Sun" and "The blossoming of Etsuka Kamiya" are the best ones for me, both are surprisingly Films from Asia. I picked "Red Carpet" for the Golden Peacock but the Chinese film "Old Barber" pipped it. I couldn't get to see 'Old Barber' as its timing clashed with "Aviva my love" of which I heard good things after its first screening.

The quality of the Films in general was very good but not some of the decisions taken by the management. A relatively small heroine like Rimi Sen was given a red carpet welcome and stalwarts like Paruchuri Brothers who wrote for more than 300 Films were made to stand in queues just like the rest of us mortals. It was very unfortunate. There were just two food stalls inside the Inox and neither of the stalls ever changed their menu. After the first two days, the food was very very sad. The only things that got us going were the Films and the beer. Well, babes too. Over 9000 passes were given to the locals and this resulted in huge queues. I can understand the public outcry if the festival is limited to the film people alone, so may be it is time for a few more theaters to be built in Goa just for the screenings for the locals(there are very few theaters in Goa), in view of Goa being the permanent venue for the iffi. This would make screenings for the Film fraternity much more peaceful. We spent about 4 hours everyday standing in the queues alone and that could be very tough on the elder generation of which there is a good participation. Should there be just one kind of entry pass? Everyone was given the same delegate pass. Cecil Pinto wrote a terrific article in a Goan daily on the entry pass with 'Mere pass Pass hi' as the title, drawing comparisons to Shashi kapoor's 'Mere pass Maa hi'. It was hilarious, and yes, the 'made-it' guys and the 'wannabes' are treated the same way at iffi. Is it fair? thats a moot question. Another big issue was the security checks that were done every single time that we had to enter the theatre. The management could have had a couple of entry and exit points for the entire complex and done the security checks right there just once. Doing security checks multiple times was taxing for the people as well as the security men, who I could see were a tired lot during the fag end of the day.

What I liked this time around was that iffi did not remain to be just a film festival, they made it a celebration of Goa itself. Come evening, the roads were filled with people partying all around Panjim. That is the first thing I missed after I flew back to Hyderabd. I also think that it is not such a good idea to make Goa the permanent venue(though it is the same practice for Cannes and Sundance as well). I would be much more excited to visit a different place every year with iffi as the pretext. It would enable us to experience different cultures each time. Another sad thing is the timing, Kerala Film Festival has just begun today and there is no way I could attend it, having just come back from the iffi.

Back to the Films, I am quite proud of the kind of Films that India has made in the past and is still making, like 'Rang De basanti' for example but there are just not enough of the kind that we could proudly show the world. India makes more films than any other country in the world but only a few good ones come out of it. I have recently got to meet with a big Production house in Bombay just before the iffi. I narrated them some of my ideas and they seemed to be quite impressed by me. They had me fly over to Bombay a couple of times for discussions and even gave me an offer. Only, the offer was to remake a Hollywood flick into Telugu and Hindi. They suggested three English flicks and asked me to pick one. 'Take it or leave it', I was told right there. Tonnes of money they have got but no heart for original cinema. Everybody wants to play it safe. It pains me to see this happening. There is much more to cinema than commerce. A well written dialogue can make you think, can make your spirit soar into the skies. It can put you on a thought process which could change the way you lead your life. "Every bird comes down with a message from God, only if you hear it", the lead in the Film "Bird saviour, cloud and wind" says. I have never seen such beautiful corn fields in my life. The vastness of the fields, the Jesus like calmness in 'cloud and wind', the sacrifice he makes in being a bird saviour. And then the pure magic of martial arts in the 'Shadow less Sword', what it takes to be a king of men, and what it takes to serve such a king better, we understand little better. Cinema could be a great tool in shaping people's lives, I come back with that wisdom and with a hope that I could contribute to the society one day, through cinema.

Hari Yelleti's exclusive coverage on IFFI 2006 for idlebrain.com:
• Review - Hadvarim Shameahorei Hashemesh (Things Behind the Sun) (5 Dec 2006)
• Review - Shaere Zobale-ha (Poet of The Wastes) (4 Dec 2006)
• Review - Aviva Ahuvati (Aviva My Love) (3 Dec 2006)
• Review - Red carpet(Tapete Vermelho) (2 Dec 2006)
• Day 9 - photos (1st De 2006)
• Day 7 - photos (29 Nov 2006)
• Review - Marie Antoinette (1 Dec 2006)
• Day 6 - Ola (29 Nov 2006)
• Day 5 - photos (27 Nov 2006)
• Review - The blossoming of Etsuko Kamiya (27 Nov 2006)
• Review - One Star and Two Coffee (27 Nov 2006)
• Review - Note here to be loved (27 Nov 2006)
• Review - Ma Quando Arrivano Le Ragazzee?(when do the girls show up?) (2005) (26 Nov 2006)
• Day 3 - photos (25 Nov 2006)
• Review - The Road(Fang Xiang Zhi Lu) (2005) (24 Nov 2006)
• Review - The Short Life (Jalbeun Insaeng) (24 Nov 2006)
• Day 2 - Its Showtime! (24 Nov 2006)
• Day 1 - Inauguration ceremony (23 Nov 2006)
• Jasminum Review (22 Nov 2006)
• Curtain Raiser - In The Paradise (22 Nov 2006)