People divided between narratives in country: Prakash Raj

Actor and film director Prakash Raj attended the closing ceremony of the 28th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) where he spoke on the different narratives in the country that influence the thinking of people and asked them to be careful about them.

Prakash Raj, who was the chief guest at the event said, "It is always a joy to be here, for your warmth, for the love, for the beliefs you have and especially, being God’s own country, you keep God away from politics."

He added, "For me, this festival means a lot in the context of what we are going through in our country, in the country where people are divided between narratives...I am so proud of you all, your government, great thinkers, and writers to continue to have a festival like this."

He continued, "We need to be careful of these narratives because we know what kind of narratives. For example, the attack on the parliament the other day. We are seeing narratives around the 6 people who wanted to protest. We have a bunch of journalists fighting like jokers. We have an opposition party blaming the ruling party. We have the ruling party saying that there is a photograph of the accused with the opposition party. The other narrative is on what is the security of the parliament. Will also there be a narrative that will discuss and have a dialogue on what made these youngsters to do this. Will we also have a narrative as to how desperate it is to be unemployed, how desperate and frustrated it is not to get answers on Manipur?"

The event was formally inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan via a pre-recorded message

"The IFFK stands tall with the biggest festivals across the country in its unwavering political content. The package of films expressing solidarity with Palestine is an example of that. Only a few festivals have expressed such solidarity," he said.

Actor Nana Patekar also attended the festival. During the inaugural ceremony, he said, "I feel honoured to be here. I express gratitude to the organisers for inviting me to IFFK. I came to Kerala for the first time 32 years ago for a film shooting. Nothing has changed in the socio-political scenario since then. People think more with their heart. So, it is easier to communicate even if the languages are different. It has to be like this. "

He also spoke about his desire to work in the Malayalam industry and shared how he never got a chance to work in Malayalam films in his career spanning five decades.

"Not even a single director from here (Kerala) has ever approached me in the last 50 years... that means I have to improve as an actor. I will try my best and will not let you down," he quipped.

A total of 175 films from 81 countries were showcased during the week-long event.