Sarang 2018: 'Newton', 'Mary Kom' among films lined up for India festival in S Korea

A range of diverse and acclaimed films, including 'Mary Kom', 'Newton' and 'Ship of Theseus' have been line up for screening as part of the annual Sarang festival, an 11-day cultural carnival introducing India's colourful and varied heritage at venues across South Korea.

The 11-day festival, hosted by the Indian Embassy in Seoul, began on September 6 with a whole host of cultural activities, including classical music and theatre performances, organised so far.

The fourth edition of the festival seeks to boost cultural exchanges between the two countries.

The Indian Film Festival, part of the cinema segment of Sarang, began Tuesday, according to information shared by the Indian Embassy. The last screening will take place on September 16.

The films lined for the festival include 'Mark Kom', 'Newton', 'The Ghazi Attack', 'To Let' (Tamil), 'Sinjar' (Malayalam) and 'Ship Of Theseus'.

While the Priyanka Chopra Starrer 'Mary Kom' is a biopic on the famed Indian Olympian boxer from Manipur, 'Newton' is a commentary on the social scenario in India through the lens of elections.

Award-winning film 'Ship of Theseus' explores questions of identity, justice, beauty, meaning and death through an experimental photographer, an ailing monk and a young stockbroker.

The film festival is being co-hosted at the Korea Film Archives by Embassy of India in Seoul, Indian Cultural Center Seoul-Busan and Korean Film Archive.

The word 'Sarang' means love in Korean, and colourful and beautiful in Hindi.

The festival celebrations are spread over major cities in South Korea such as Seoul, Chuncheon, Gwangju and Busan, the Embassy said.

The festival had opened with Kathak performance by Uma Sharma and her troupe, and Odissi performance by another group in Seoul at Ewha Woman's University's Samsung Hall.

A Carnatic music concert is slated for Wednesday at the Yonsei University's 100th Aniversary Memorial Hall.

Aamir Khan-starrer 'Dangal', based on the life and struggle of a wrestler family - the Phogats, is a well-known film in Korea.

Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook, during her visit to India in July, while accompanying President Moon Jae-in had interacted with the Phogat sisters.