Director Anubhav Sinha gave the Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture at the 26^th Kolkata International Film Festival.

The topic of the lecture was Social Responsibility in Mainstream Indian Cinema.

The director spoke at length about his association with Bengal, his Bengali friends, and his Bengal connection with regards to films. The main reason why he wanted to be a part of this lecture was that his name and Satyajit Ray’s name will be written in the same context.

He had initially thought that he will speak on politics in Indian cinema and then later thought that he better focus on social responsibility in mainstream Indian cinema.

The director said that he used to joke about his Bengali friends during his engineering days. They used to speak in Bengali when they met with other Bengali friends. He used to feel it weird at that time. But now he understands that it is essential for preserving one’s culture. This is his first understanding of culture. He understood that preserving one’s culture is fulfilling one’s social responsibility.

His advice to the upcoming directors is that they must first find what kind of films they want to make and not waste time as he did. He had wasted quite many years deciding on what kind of films he actually wanted to make. Deciding on that beforehand can save time and let one start on the right path.

Priyanka Dutta