“Exploring India” is the theme for the 2012 Casper College Multicultural Film Festival, which will show two films: “Hum Tum” and “Amu.”

The first film, “Hum Tum” will be shown on Friday, April 27, and according to Erich Frankland, film festival director and political science instructor,“is a modern Bollywood romance.”

“This 2004 film is a refreshing look at the eternal battle of the sexes and the trials and tribulations of 'every man' and 'every woman' and their attempts to understand each other,”

“Hum Tum” was directed by Kunal Kohli and features major Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Kirron Kher. The post-film discussion will be led by Dr. Joseph Campbell, English instructor at Casper College.

The second film, “Amu” was released in 2005 and “received a number of international film honors including at the Berlin Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, and the American Film Institute Film Festival. It also won two National Film Awards in India,” said Frankland. The film features Konkona Sensharma as a young Indian-American who returns to India to visit her family, and in the process learns more than she anticipated about the nature and problems of the country. The film also starred Ankur Khanna and Brinda Karat, and was directed by Shonali Bose.

“Amu” will be shown on Friday May 4 with the post-film discussion to be led by David Zoby, English instructor and director of Casper College's Honors Program.

“India's growing economic, political, and cultural importance make it a logical choice for the 2012 festival. It is a country of multiplicities: cultures, languages, regions, castes, etc. As the world's largest democracy India continues to wrestle with these multiplicities as it modernizes and urbanizes, and fully enters the increasingly globalized world. India also has made a growing cinematic splash with "Bollywood" alone responsible for the production of over 800 feature-length films a year, compared to Hollywood's less than 600,”

The 2012 Multicultural Film Festival “Exploring India,” is sponsored by the Casper Committee on Foreign Relations, the Casper College Political Science Department, the Casper College International Studies Program, the Casper College Honors Program, and Casper College.

Both films will begin at 7 p.m. in Wheeler Auditorium, Room 103 of the Wold Physical Science Center on the Casper College campus. The showings are free and open to the public.

Here is the Movie Trailer for Hum Tum.

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