Bandra Film Festival to showcase I Am Kalam, Riding On A Sunbeam from 15 August

The Bandra Film Festival will be showcasing Nila Madhab Panda's I Am Kalam (2010) and Brahmanand Singh's Riding On A Sunbeam (2016) from 15 August as part of its Independence Day line-up on its YouTube channel.

The digital film festival is presented by FilmKaravan in collaboration with YouTube. So far, the organizers have showcased feature films, documentaries and various short films.

I Am Kalam, starring Harsh Mayar and Gulshan Grover, tells the story of a poor boy who is so inspired by former president APJ Abdul Kalam that he starts calling himself by the same name.

Mayar won the National Film award for Best Child Artiste for his moving performance in the film.

Riding On A Sunbeam is a documentary where two individuals explore the many little pockets that form the mosaic of the Indian land.

Talking about I Am Kalam, Panda said, "This film is extremely special as it was my debut film and it received lots of love from the audience, critics and even from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. People often see actors or sportspersons as their heroes or role models, but I wanted to show a real hero.

"He was a superstar. So, despite not being part of the film, Dr Kalam is omnipresent in it. You search for Spider-Man, Superman and Iron Man in a film. My Superman is Dr Kalam. He rewrote his destiny by sheer hard work. He taught common people to dream. Extremely delighted that the movie still resonates with so many and a wider audience will now get a chance to view it via the Bandra Film Festival."

Thanking the organizers of the festival, Brahmanand Singh said, "I am happy to see my film being showcased under the Patriotic Passion category. This is a film that captures the social, cultural, economic and religious contradictions of modern-day India through the eyes of two backpacking protagonists.

"Films and content like these have the power to change the way we look at things, cinema being an amazingly powerful medium to capture and share it with millions... hope entertainment in 'Bollywood' goes beyond the clichéd content and extends to ideas like these."