SAARC Film Day features Iqbal from India

SAARC is an association established for cooperation among South Asian countries. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the current members of SAARC.

The SAARC Cultural Centre is intended to function as a major meeting point for the artistic communities of member States.

It is designed to cater to all forms of art such as performing arts (e.g., dance, music, drama, theatre, puppetry and folk culture), visual art (e.g., painting, sculpture, film making, photography) and literature.

The office of the SAARC Cultural Centre was opened in Colombo, Sri Lanka on March 25 2009, until the proposed centre in Matara is established.

SAARC Film Day series 2012 The fourth of many films featuring movies from the SAARC region, will be screened at 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25 at the National Film Corporation Cinema Hall. It will be screened in close collaboration with the Indian Cultural Centre. The film"Iqbal" from India, is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor.

It is a story about the determination, hard work, and an unending passion to become a pace bowler in the National Cricket Team.

"When the heart begins to think like the head... that's when real success is achieved," says coach Naseeruddin Shah to his special student, a deaf-and-mute boy who strives to become a national cricket player. Iqbal rocks to a rustic and heartfelt raga-rhythm.Location: a small Muslim village. Texture: tender and basic. End result: a film that exudes the familiar aura of sweet dreams.

One cannot come away from this big-little film without cheering its twin heroes... the physically challenged 18-year old Iqbal and his washed-out inebriated coach whose twinkling eyes and inbuilt sense of humour carry forward the tale from its deliberately frail beginnings to a rousing finale.

Iqball qualifies as a must-see, not so much for its virtuosity as its artlessness of vision. No one here tells a lie. Not the storytellers, not his creations.

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Shreyas Talpade, Shweta Prasad, Yatin Kareyekar, Prateeksha Londkar, Girish Karnad with a special appearance by Kapil Dev

Direction: Nagesh Kukunoor

This Film is the fourth film in a series of films that will be screened, organized by the Centre in an attempt to bring member states of the SAARC region together embracing culture and recognizing unity through diversity.

For further details please contact the Indian Cultural Centre on: 2684698 and Email: iccrcolombo @gmail.com.