Ballarat residents will get a taste of one of the world’s most popular cinema genres over the next 12 months as the Regent Multiplex plays host to the Isowhey Ballarat Indian Film Festival.
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Each month the SMS Community organisation will showcase a different Indian film ranging across eras and genres with the aim of encouraging cultural understanding and communication between Ballarat’s Indian community and the wider population.
Event organiser Bobby Mehta said Ballarat residents wishing to view the latest Bollywood blockbusters currently had to travel to Melbourne, despite the city’s multicultural make-up and growing Indian population.
“(Indian cinema) is so colourful and vibrant, and the story lines are often very simple so it's not hard for people to follow it,” Mr Mehta said.
“We want to break down barriers and get people to come and experience something different in Ballarat, and for the population of Indians here why would we want to travel down to Melbourne when we have such a beautiful cinema here?”
The festival kicked off on Sunday with the showing of award-winning film Bajirao Mastani to a near-full cinema. The next installment of the festival will take place at the Regent Multiplex on December 18 at 3.45pm with a showing of Bajrangi Bhaijan.
