She inaugurated a film festival; she also sells bananas

From GOMANTAK TIMES, Monday March 7, 2005

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

PURI: Everything about this film festival is unusual.

"No entry forms, no selection procedures, no competition, no bureaucracy, no hierarchy. Just films...," the BYOFF brochure declares. And there's more -- the festival was inaugurated this year by a banana seller who knows ten languages!

Meet Kanak Reddy, a Telugu woman in her 30s who has been selling bananas in Puri for the last 15 years. She has no formal education but has learnt 10 languages including many foreign ones through her customers, many of whom are tourists.

Kanak Reddy, 32, has become a celebrity of sorts in his holy town, the abode of Lord Jagannath. Kanak hit the headlines after being chosen to inaugurate this year's Bring Your Own Film Festival (BYOFF) at Puri.

Says Kanak, "I always had a fascination for languages. I come into contact with many foreigners wh ocome to Puri as tourists. They ask me the price of the banana in their language and I befriend them and learn their language."

Apart from Hindi, Telugu, Oriya, Bengali and Tamil, she also knows s Japanese, French, Italian and Spanish. And she has more than a hundred foreigners as her friends. Many of them became her language teachers during their long sojourns in Puri.

Has she never thought of greener pastures beyond these shores? She could easily go abroad with the help of her friends. "No, I am happy here at the abode of Lord Jagannath," pat comes her response.

Then she reveals rather shyly, "I have also received many marriage proposals from foreigners. But I refused. They might taken me now and abandon me later. What would happen to me then?"

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PURI FILM FESTIVAL MAKES IT MARK

The Bring Your Own Film Festival (BYOFF) at Puri in Orissa began as an unusual experiment last year. Puri hosted a large gathering of independent filmmakers for a second time from February 16 to 20.

Going by the response in its second chapter this year, the experiment seems to have paid off. It is becoming an important platform for low-budget, struggling filmmakers. They screen their works and interact with others like them.

The venue was Pink House, a hotel-cum-restaurant, located on the beach. Screenings were also held in the open air. The film festival featured more than a hundred films over five days, ranging from feature length to short films of two-minute duration.

The idea of Bring Your Own Film Festival has generated a huge and enthusiastic response in the Indian film-making community.

There has been some response from abroad too, say organisers.

It is meant to be an informal gathering of film-makers, artistes, musicians, theatre persons, writers and everyone interested in arts in general and films in particular. (ENDS)

Courtesy: Gomantak Times, Goa

I have a photo of Banana Lady; will look for it and try to upload it. She's really "something else"!