today

Pune, Oct. 20 (PTI): Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi was given the second Zenith Asia Honour here today on the concluding day of the fourth Asian Film Festival, which showcased some 80 movies from 22 Asian countries. Majidi, the only Iranian director to have been nominated for an Oscar in 1998 for his film "Children of Heaven", said after accepting the award that he was a great fan of Satyajit Ray and would make a film on the children of Jammu and Kashmir in the next two years. He said he was fascinated by the people and culture of Kashmir. Majidi also talked about the cultural similarities between India and Iran and the need for people of the two countries to understand their shared heritage. There are vivid descriptions of Kashmir in Iranian poems.

As the event came to a conclusion at Plaza Theatre, Dadar, the organisers expressed hope that the festival will be back next year on a bigger scale

IMO:India/Iran ties sound a good idea. Let's hope for the best about the Kashmir film and trust it is not political but cinematic poetry as Kashmir can make it be. Kashmir is or can be sheer poetry in the hearts of those who know and love it.