Lucknow: Ayodhya, believed to be the birthplace of Lord Rama, is playing host to cinemas from across the world as the Ayodhya Film Festival kicked off to a colorful start at Gurunanak College in the city. Actors and directors from around the world are attending the 17th film festival. Some of the international actors who came to the festival include Iranian actress Sana Norujageebi and Australian actor Charles Thompson. The girls of Gurunanak School danced at the inauguration.

State Information Officer Kiran Bala Chowdhary outlined the importance of film festivals. She said that cinema was the face of society. Before this, Dr. Mohandas and Dr. Shah Alam Rana gave an outline of the program and traced the 17-year journey. The inaugural session was also addressed by Lovlesh Taneja, Trilokinath Verma of Vishwanath Films, and the descendant of Rajjab Ali, a freedom fighter of the 1857 Indian Independence Movement. Film actor Charles Thompson, who attended the festival, said that Ayodhya was an emerging destination.

Satyashodhak, a Marathi language film based on the life of Jyotiba Phule, was the inaugural film of the festival. Satyashodhal Samaj was a social reform society founded by Jyotiba Phule in Pune, Maharashtra, on 24th September 1873. The Mooknayak spoke to Nilesh Jalamkar, the director of the film. He said, “The unique thing about the movie is that this film moves with the narration of the character of Babasaheb Ambedkar. The reason for doing this was that Baba Saheb considered Jyotiba Phule to be his ideological guru and he also gave a clap for the film “Phule” in 1954, a big film in which Sant Gadge had performed, but it was never released." Nilesh said "Satyashodhak" would be released on 5th January 2024. Speaking about the making of the film, he said that it took 5-7 years to make the film and is based on books released by the Maharashtra government. National Award Winner Sandeep Kulkarni has artistically played the character of Jyotiba Phule.

The Mooknayak spoke to Dr. Mohandas who said that there are around 286 films from India and around 26 countries in the world. He said, as the place is known for Rama, we also have the film screening of a Bisau ki mook ramlila. Bisau is a place in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, and the film showcases the unique celebration of Ram lila. Other films include The Teka and Tooti, The Way Back Home, Thanks Mom, Silent Ties, and also Titu Ambani, which deals with the obsession of people to become Ambani.

On the second day of the film festival, films like Gathbandhan, Kanhaji, Beads of Breath, Bed No. 17, Wavelength, Enter the Room, etc., were screened.

Ayodhya Film Festival, often called Uttar Pradesh’s Premier Film Festival, was founded under the aegis of Awam ka Cinema in 2006 with the aim of projecting Uttar Pradesh as a leader in filmmaking to the world. Apart from short films and documentaries, the festival has included web series for the last two years.

Shah Alam Rana, the founder of Awam Ka Cinema, said, "Awam ka Cinema is an attempt to usher in change in society through cinema. It is funded entirely by the Awam, i.e., the people, and therefore it is called Awam ka Cinema."