I owe it to Indian cinema: Russian filmmaker Mikhalkov

Celebrated Russian filmmaker Mikhalkov on Wednesday said that a film becomes an international film only when it is truly national and culture oriented.

Mr. Mikhalkov, who would be conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015 during the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India on November 30, said he felt proud at being included in the list of distinguished personalities who received the award previously.

Addressing presspersons here, he said he was a great lover of Indian cinema and confessed that it has had a great impact on his work.

“Love and tenderness shown in the films of Raj Kapoor had influenced me since my childhood,” he said humming the famous song

Awara , from Raj Kapoor’s film and added that it was the best way he could explain his love for Indian movies.

“The world has died of its own greed, people value money more than emotions, this leads to violence and aggression,” said Mr. Mokhalkov replying to a question about the violence in today’s world. He has advocated love and passion through his work, he pointed out.

Mr. Mikhalov said his films mirror the life of a particular time, but are not a commentary on any political system.

Mr. Makhalkov is winner of the 1995 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. He got international recognition for his film A Slave of Love in 1975 . In 1994, his film, Burnt by the Sun , won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film in 1995.

His 1998 film The Barber of Siberia was the most expensive Russian film and opened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999.