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A group of villagers runs Lucknows only film club,screening movies from all over the world every fortnight....

They may not be entirely literate,but fortnight after fortnight,a group of villagers is successfully managing the screenings at Filmistan,Lucknows only film club,for nearly a year. And the Filmistan Film Club,held at Sanatkada,a crafts shop,every first and third Tuesday of the month,has recently found a fan in actor Farooq Sheikh,who,during his visit to Lucknow,attended a screening.

From 20 friends who sat on takhats to 150-odd people occupying every nook and corner of the main hall of Sanatkada in the Kaiserbagh area,the club has certainly grown. A brain child of Madhavi Kukreja of Sanatkada,the idea behind Filmistan was to screen good films from all across the world for a select group of friends with a love for cinema. Said Kukreja,Since I had a place where we could hold such screenings in cosy environs,Sanatkada was

chosen as the venue.

Organising the screenings are Nasreen Khan and Hameeda Khatun from Faizabad,Vandana Verma from Banda,and Puneet Goel from Chitrakootthey all came to Lucknow with Kukrejas help. Kukreja,who heads Vanangana,an NGO,gave them an education and employment at her shop. She has taught them to operate computers and now,they run the club independently.

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For a small club,the list of filmsfrom all over the worldscreened is impressive: Gandhi My Father,Khamosh Pani,Kadosh,The Blue Kite,Pride and Prejudice,The Kite Runner,The Reader,Children of Heaven,The Bicycle Thief,The Motorcycle Diaries,

Autumns Final Country,My Fair Lady,Fiddler on the Roof,15 Park Avenue…

The club has also hosted meet-the-director sessions with the likes of Iqbal Kidwaiwho assisted Sahiba Sumar in Khamosh Paniand renowned documentary filmmaker Lalit Vachhani.

The first show was held on April 7 last year. At the beginning of each month,the managing team deliberates with Kukreja on which films to screenbased on availability and feedback from viewersand sends out emails and text messages to club members. Didi has given us the list of members. Every time there is a new member,we update it. Its just like announcing a movie in the village,except that we dont do it through loudspeakers here! says Khan. Membership is freeyou merely have to be a cinema fan.

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On the day of screening,the team members prepare the room with takhats,durries and cushions,and arrange for refreshments. The projectors and the screen are set up,and by 7 p.m.,the screening begins. Initially,we hesitated to handle these machines,but

Madhavi didi gave us the confidence to go ahead, says Khan.

The team is planning a big bash to mark the completion of a year of screenings at Sanatkada.