The fourth edition of the Red Sea Film Festival is currently taking place in Jeddah, bringing some of the international film community’s biggest names to Saudi Arabia for a lavish celebration of global cinema. Among the many attendees was Bollywood icon Kareena Kapoor Khan, who remarked on the span of international guests in attendance.
“Last night was amazing. We had so many wonderful people under one roof… so many different people from different parts of the world,” Kapoor Khan said from the Variety Lounge, presented by Film AlUla.
“I think that’s what the Red Sea Film Festival is about. It’s my second time here. The first time I came, I was with my husband Saif [Ali Khan], and this time, I’ve come alone. But it’s so nice to have everybody collaborating under one roof. We are kind of all similar: even though we speak different languages, everyone’s a cinematic mind of some sort. So I think that just feels really special.”
When it comes to engaging with international cinema, Kapoor Khan says her husband encourages her to view films in their original languages: “I sometimes want to watch the dubbed version, but he’s always like, no, we should watch it in its original language and enjoy it a lot more. We’re getting to watch different kinds of cinema, so I think that’s really cool.”
Regardless of her affinity for international film or her expansive, genre-hopping resume, Kapoor still believes there’s a special magic to be found in Indian cinema.
“I think what sets Indian cinema a bit apart is we’re the only cinema that has this lovely song-and-dance kind of emotion. We’re dancing at a drop of a hat, we’re crying at a drop of a hat. So it kind of makes everyone love to watch our movies, and I think that’s amazing,” she said. “They just love that whole emotional ride and the colors in the song and dance, which I think is absolutely amazing. I don’t think anyone else can do that.”