Zanussi, who is in the country to attend the 43rd Indian International Film Festival where he is being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, feels Indian cinema is the only form which is faithful to its tradition and culture.
"I have full respect for Bollywood and commercial cinema because it is a framework of your identity. I think India is the only country where cinema is faithful to its tradition, aesthetics and mentality. I have seen movies world across - like in China, where films remind me of world cinema and not its personal culture.
"Indian cinema may be very alien to me but I know it's a choice of many people and I realize there is a conflict between commercial cinema and rich and cultural cinema here. But I think if both can be balanced there is nothing wrong in it. There is fidelity in Indian cinema," Zanussi said.
The 73-year-old filmmaker is known for his intellectual and deeply philosophical films like "The Structure of Crystal", "The Spiral", "Constant Factor", "The Contract" and "Inventory".
The director will be conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award award today and a cash prize of 10 lakh.