Actor Raja Bundela makes a keen success of Khajuraho film festival in its third year

MUMBAI: Audiences nationwide are familiar with the acting and directorial talent of Raja Bundela. His entertaining performances in films like Ab Ayega Mazaa, Star and Ankush, and the pictures he made like Pratha, continue to engage audiences years after they were made.
However, apart from making movies, in recent years Bundela has taken on the enormous responsibility of organising the Khajuraho International Film Festival (KIFF) in Madhya Pradesh.The third edition was organised recently from December 17-23, 2017. The actor belongs to this state and chose to organise the event here although he could have done so in Bhopal or Indore where civic infrastructure is of a higher grade.
Despite its historic, cultural and heritage quotient, despite the fact that there are half a dozen five-star hotels apart from an international airport, Khajuraho does not have a single cinema hall.
Amid this backdrop, Bundela commendably brings leading luminaries from Hindi cinema over to interact with lovers of film. His albums are filled with pictures of Ramesh Sippy and his wife Kiran Juneja, Prem Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Ranjeet, Jackie Shroff, Shekhar Kapur, Govind Nihalani, Meeta Vashisht, Manmohan Shetty, Govind Namdeo and Bharati Achrekar walking the red carpet in Khajuraho. Bundela's wife, actress Sushmita Mukherjee, was the perfect hostess.
Bundela said, "The Khajuraho International Film Festival is organised by my company Prayaas Production in association with the Madhya Pradesh department of culture. The highlight, for me, is that each year, we select three promising youngsters from Khajuraho to avail scholarships in acting, cinematography and direction from industry veterans like Anupam Kher, Ramesh Sippy and Subhash Ghai. Some of these youth have seldom visited a theatre to see a movie, while most have no idea how a film is made.''
The December 2017 edition of KIFF was dedicated to actors Shashi Kapoor, Om Puri and Tom Alter. Bundela wishes he had thought of including the master actor Farooque Shaikh, who was his dear friend and colleague from his IPTA days. He promises to do so the following season.
The seriousness of KIFF becomes doubly evident when you see that an entire segment is devoted to the fine art of theatre. This season, veteran director Waman Kendre who heads the National School of Drama (NSD) was felicitated for lifetime contribution to the art. Bundela himself hails from IPTA and its members have cultivated a strong connect with KIFF as well.
Bundela seems to have surmounted the initial challenge. Already, KIFF has expanded to nearby areas like Panna and Chhattarpur and has grown from a three-day event in 2015 to seven days in 2017. Thousands of villagers including women arrive to watch pictures in a makeshift shed that Bundela calls 'Tapra Talkies'. They discuss issues of empowerment as they watch international films made by women directors.