Cinema is not just source of entertainment but much more to that: Shahid

Panaji, Nov 21: Actor Shahid Kapoor has said that Indian cinema has come a long way and it's no longer known to be a mere source of entertainment, but there is lot more to the stories that are told by the filmmakers.

Speaking about 'Changing Face of Cinema' during the inaugural ceremony of 48th International Film Film Festival of India (IFFI) here on Monday night, he said, 'From running in fields to multi-coloured flowers to making films about women empowerment, Indian cinema has come a long long away.' Sahid said cinema was not just about entertainment but about telling stories and the same was being represented by the Indian film industry. 'Cinema is about telling stories. Cinema is about sharing human journeys. Cinema is about life. Today I feel that film industry represents that,' said the actor. The 'Jab We Met' actor said there had been times when cinema used to be known about entertainment, but things changed and the industry has reached to point where the perception has changed. 'There have been times where it (cinema) was only known to be about entertainment but I think today we have reached a point where cinema was not known as just source of entertainment. There is lot more meaning to the stories that we tell. There was a time when we used to be fascinated by everything that was not in our country, everything that was outside, everything that was foreign, we had almost lost our soul. But here we are today, the most successful and relevant films are about our country, about our people, about the issues that exist between us, the differences that exist between us, and now we have come to tide over that. We have shown that we are consolidated,' the 'Udta Punjab' actor said.  'Cinema is above languages, above barriers, cinema is above nations, cinema is life,' remarked the actor who made his film debut in 2003 with a leading role in the romantic comedy 'Ishq Vishk', a sleeper hit, and bagged a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for the same.
UNI