'Bollywood films confined to TV sets in Israel'

Zafri Mudasser Nofil, New Delhi, Jul 15: Bollywood films once quite popular in Israel when cinema halls were there are now, with the coming up of multiplexes, confined mostly to the television sets, a leading filmmaker of that country has said.

"Bollywood films are not shown in multiplexes nowadays. People can see them only on cable television now," says Eran Riklis, whose films 'Lemon Tree' and 'Syrian Bride' are being shown at the ongoing Osian's Cinefan festival here.

He said the number of conventional cinema halls is on the decline in Israel.

"A number of multiplexes have come up with all the facilities," Riklis, who grew up in the US, learnt cinema in the UK and worked in Israel, told PTI.

He says Israeli cinema is growing in a big way. "Many good things are happening in Israeli cinema." "Government-wise, it is not difficult to make a film in Israel. All my films had government support," he says.

According to him, showing films in another country is always a challenge but the response in India has been amazing.

"I like to make films that are universal. I come from a democratic notion of film making," he says.

Both 'Lemon Tree' and 'Syrian Bride' talk about borders and deal with highly emotional, physical as well as mental situations.

"'Lemon Tree' was based on an idea I got from the Internet. The story was there. The metaphor was there. I even did not do much research," he says.

In the film, a Palestinian widow Salma stands up against her new neighbour the Israeli Defence Minister when he moves into his new house opposite her lemon grove on the green line border between Israel and the West Bank. The Israeli security forces declare that Salma's trees pose a threat to the minister's safety and issue orders to uproot them. The trees were planted by Salma's family many generations ago and now were synonymous with her family history.

Salma engages in a legal battle and goes all the way to the Israeli Supreme Court to save her trees.

On the other hand, an invisible bond connects the minister's wife and Salma.

"The film is about solitude of people who find themselves fighting over matters that could have been resolved quite easily if they would just listen to each other," says Riklis.

His "Syrian Bride", a story of a woman who crosses over to Israel to get married, won several international awards.

"As a responsible filmmaker, I need to tell the truth. Problems are almost the same across the world," he says, adding he wants "people to laugh, cry and think over my films".

--- PTI