20 films from south India headed for China

Chennai, July 2 (IANS): Viewers in China will get to see 20 films from south Indian states this August.

Included in the package are box office hits like "Autograph" in Tamil, "Varsham" in Telugu, "Vellinakshatram" in Malayalam and "Malla" in Kannada.

Other films that will be screened in various Chinese cities are "Dhool", "Gilli", "Thiruda Thirudi", "Virumandi" and "Perzhagan" in Tamil; "Tagore", "Lakshmi Narasimha", "Amma Namma O Tamil Ammay", "Arya" and "Nemunmanu" in Telugu; "4 the People", "War and Love" and "Runway" in Malayalam; and "Excuse Me", "Raktha Kanneeru" and "Durgi" in Kannada.

South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce President K. Devivaraprasad said the films would form part of a festival. The objective is to promote the best of Indian cinema and expand commercial opportunities.

The films have been selected by the Directorate of Film Festivals, in consultation with the Indian embassy in Beijing, the official said.

The southern films chamber had requested the government to give southern language films the same importance as it did to Hindi films to be screened in China.