I also discover that Bollywood is simply not as omnipresent here as it is in other parts of the Middle East. It arrives scantily and late in local theatres. There’s a TV channel dedicated to Indian films, but that’s only watched by those who stay at home, and the old, I’m told disparagingly. No one that I talk to has heard of Amitabh Bachchan. And, gasp, Shah Rukh Khan is an unknown entity. The Khan who’s made waves at the Damascus festival is Akbar, whose ‘Taj Mahal’ has shown to a rapturous response. Everywhere I go, I’m asked if I know the very beautiful Indian actress Booja. Err, Booja? They mean Pooja Batra, the leggy lass who plays the calculating Queen Noorjehan, and who is at hand to help promote the film. The ‘very beautiful Booja’ is a smash hit among festival-goers, and our group of adoring Damascene volunteers.

Like all international film festivals, the 16th edition in Damascus is a bustling global bazaar. And it’s determined to fast-track its trajectory, says Charkas : we’ll be bigger and better next year. They’d better, because they have competition right in the neighbourhood. In the past five years, the Dubai festival has grown huge, and the past two have seen Abu Dhabi lean to on the horizon ( the latter is flush with cash : a billion dollar movie making fund was announced last month, after the second festival got over ; a film school is also coming up). But Dubai is too Bollywood, and Abu Dhabi is still too new. If Damascus carries on the way it seems to be going, it looks all set to be the destination festival for the region, which is at the cusp of cultures and civilisations — a wonderful confluence of East and West.

... contd.