Thiruvananthapuram: Cinema remains one of the most powerful mediums to fight the divisive forces in a non-violent manner, noted actor-director Nandita Das said Friday.
Speaking at the opening of the 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), where she was the guest of honour, Das said if cinema wasn’t so powerful, “nobody would want to silence us.”
“Times are very difficult. You all have gone through the floods. All of us did our very little bit. We all came together,” she said. “But the other attack is of the divisive forces that are dividing us in the name of religion, caste, class, gender and we have to fight them without being violent and I think art and cinema remain one of the most powerful mediums,” she added.
Das also said that cinema has the power to “subliminally go into our subconscious” and engage us in bringing out the “inconvenient truths.” “Because if it wasn’t so powerful, nobody would want to silence us. There wouldn’t be bans, there wouldn’t be censorships. And I personally have suffered that over the years and I think people understand that it has the power to subliminally go into our subconscious. It has the power to trigger conversations to bring out inconvenient truths,” the actress said.
The medium also has the power to spark ideas, challenge prejudices and the capacity to tell powerful stories, she added. Das said the IFFK was very special to her as her first film as an actor, Fire, and her directorial debut, Firaaq both were screened here.
Manto, the second film helmed by Das, is also being screened during the seven-day festival, inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here.