Sarhad, an NGO based in Pune, has organised a Jammu & Kashmir International Film Festival in Pune. The festival was inaugurated yesterday (11th June) at the S.M. Joshi Sabhagruha and will go on till 15th June. The inaugural ceremony was attended, among others, by former I & B minister Prakash Jawadekar, social worker and Rajya Sabha member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, president of Jammu & Kashmir’s Apni Party, and a host of other guests.
A number of films (short, feature length and documentary) as well as music videos made by people from Jammu & Kashmir will be screened as part of the festival on 13th and 14th June at the NFAI auditorium. The closing ceremony will be held on 15th at Anna Bhau Sathe auditorium. The main aim of holding the festival in Pune is to strengthen the bond of Jammu & Kashmir with other states in the country in general and Maharashtra state in particular.
A number of people, including your editor, Komal Nahta, were felicitated at the inaugural ceremony.
Sarhad was started more than 25 years ago by Sanjay Nahar. The NGO has come like a ray of hope in the lives of many orphans from Jammu & Kashmir as well as the needy from J & K and North East India.
The curator and director of this festival is Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan, who himself has for several years now been organising an annual film festival in Kashmir.
Altaf Bukhari was the honoured guest at the breakfast hosted by Shailesh Pagariya at his residence in Pune this morning (12th June). Pagariya is an integral part of Sarhad.
