For the first time, Indian cinema at Moscow film fest

To celebrate 70 years of bilateral relations between India and Russia, the 39th Moscow International Film Festival, for the first time, will feature a section dedicated to Indian cinema.

'Indian Panorama' at the international film festival will showcase some of the path breaking films from the Indian film industry including the 'Baahubali' series, 'Badman', 'A Death in the Gunj', 'BeyYaar', 'U Turn' and 'Kothanodi'.

"It is a special way of celebrating the 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Russia. However, it is beyond just diplomatic relations," Anatoly V Kargopolov, charge d'affaires, Embassy of Russian Federation in India, said.

Organised by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the specially curated festival scheduled to be held from June 22 -29 will open with "Badman" starring veteran Bollywood actor Gulshan Grover.

"The audience in Russia will have an opportunity to see some great works of creative brilliance by master Indian filmmakers by way of these iconic Indian movies which will go a long way in strengthening the bonds of friendship between the two countries via cinema," Grover said.

Grover along will S S Rajamouli, director of the Baahubali series, will be present at the festival in Moscow to represent the Indian film fraternity.

Rahul Bali who has co-curated the Indian Film Festival World Wide (IFFW) that organises Indian film festivals across the globe, said the Indian films set to be screened at the festival have been chosen based on their languages to represent different parts of the country.