In an effort to raise awareness about good cinema among students in urban and rural areas, the Children Film Society of India is arranging special screening of selected classics in government-aided institutions.
A CFSI spokesman said that as part of the initiative, 2,500 students had already attended such special screenings in Hindu School, Kamala Girls School, Jadavpur Vidyapith, Hare School, Tirthapati Institution among others in the city.
"Now we are aiming at rural pockets of West Bengal where a vast majority of students live and who are not introduced to classics," he told PTI.
"The purpose is to give children, aged 8 to 12 years, exposure to good cinema as we must keep in mind that there are many underprivileged children who don't get to see such works," the spokesman said at a CFSI-sponsored programme here.
Arindam Sil, maker of such films as 'Egoler Chokh' and 'Har Har Byomkesh' and who also doubles up as a consultant for Bollywood films, asked a group of 300 children, who attended the programme, if they had heard the names of film-makers like Rituparno Ghosh, to which only a few said they did.
Interestingly, when they were asked if they had heard the name of Bengali movie superstar Dev, more known for mainstream films, most of them lustily cheered.
"I think the way children are being encouraged to read books, there should be similar encouragement from schools and guardians for cultivating the habit of watching good films," Sil said.
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