Our visit to India helped us feel Indian cinema,rather than just analysing films on screen, said the three American students who completed their intensive course Cinema in India at the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) on Tuesday. Sarah Spivey,Magdalena Banveos and Tenille Pippenger from the department of English,Metropolitan State College of Denver were in Pune for the weeks course. The trio unanimously said that Om Shanti Om and Mangal Pandey were their personal favourites. Sarah and Magdalena whose major subject is Photography said that though there is not much difference in the photography aspect between Indian and Western films,the symbolism is different fromwestern countries.This is for the first time that we have introduced a separate subject on Indian cinema in our college, says James Aubrey,professor of English literature,Metropolitan State College of Denver. The idea is that when a student studies films of any nation,he/ she invariable studies culture,he added. During their weeklong stay,the trio watched and discussed various Indian films like Mother India,Monsoon wedding and Bride and Prejudice,. Film experts like Samar Nakhate,Pradeep Dixit,Shamala Vanarase,Anil Zankar and others guided them in the discussion. The tour was facilitated and coordinated by the International Students Centre,University of Pune (UoP). The students will leave for Mumbai to visit the Film City on Saturday followed by the Dadasaheb Phalke museum in Nashik and the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad.
