H.E. Ambassador Arun Kumar Sahu delivered a speech at the MENAR Film Festival 2025 in Bulgaria, highlighting the screening of the Gujarati film Hellaro, which explores women's empowerment and resistance to patriarchy in rural India. He also emphasized the global reach and diversity of Indian cinema, noting its significant cultural impact and economic growth, particularly in entertainment and technology. Read the full speech below:

"Distinguished Guests, Diplomatic colleagues, Cinema lovers, Ladies and Gentlemen

Good evening. 

It is an honour for me to join all of you at the screening of Hellaro, an Indian cinema in Gujarati language, produced in 2019 at the MENAR Film Festival in Bulgaria.  It’s a film on women’s empowerment and rejection of patriarchy in a remote village in Western India which faces water scarcity. It’s a period drama. 

India officially has 22 languages, and every year, we produce more than 2,000 films of different genres. Some of you may know movies like RRR, Bahubali, Pushpa, and KGF have recently achieved significant global success. You are, of course, aware of the Oscar-winning number “Natu Natu”. We produce all kinds of content: family dramas, action movies, short films, period films, docudramas and documentaries. Music is an integral part of our movies. Many popular song-dance sequences have been shot in exquisite locations worldwide, including North America, Asia, West Europe, and East Europe, including Bulgaria. You may also like to know that many animated films worldwide are sourced from India. 

We Indians love four things: Food, Cricket, Films and Information Technology. These are massive economies on the path of constant growth. For example, the  Indian entertainment industry is likely to reach USD 43 billion by 2028. And, of course, cricket has scaled unimaginable heights in the sports arena. 

Cinema is entertainment and a communication medium between people from different geographies and cultures. I hope that through Hellaro, which roughly means “outburst,” you will be introduced to a few aspects of the current social churning that Indian society is experiencing.  

I thank Dr Mona Kaushik, President of the Devam Foundation, and the organisers of the MENAR Film Festival for giving us this platform. 

Please enjoy the evening.

Thank you."

Source: Embassy of India, Sofia