THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai had its effect on the recently-concluded 14th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). Seven foreign delegates, including jury chairman Ghobadi Bahman who was carrying an Iranian passport, had trouble getting visas to land in Thiruvananthapuram, following the strict visa rules enforced by the Government of India after the incident.Thanks to the help from Shashi Tharoor, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, these delegates could reach the city on time to attend the festival, from different destinations. The camp office put up by the Minister in the city had, in fact, functioned as the bridge for getting the visas cleared for these delegates from the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.Ghobadi Bahman, who was having an Iranian passport, had applied for visa from Berlin. The authorities had sought his details from the Iranian authorities for issuing the visa. However, this got delayed and in a routine procedure it takes a month to get the clearance.The festival directorate contacted the Minister’s camp office in Thiruvananthapuram for help and the visa was cleared within 24 hours.Following the terror attack in Mumbai, the Central Government had introduced stringent clauses in the rules for clearing the visas of those travelling from certain countries.Similarly, Peck Joseph M. Hebert Raoul, who was invited to deliver the Aravindan Memorial Lecture as part of the festival, had also trouble in getting the visa. He was carrying a Haitian passport with French residential permit.Hence, the Indian authorities had to get the clearance from both these countries.Keita Mamadou, a jury member carrying a Chinese passport, applied for visa from Paris and hence had to face the difficulty in getting the clearance.Similarly, two other delegates from China, Renhua and Tuoya, also had problems in getting the visas issued.But the timely intervention of Shashi Tharoor’s office could get things done for the IFFK authorities.An African delegate Bakupa Kanyinda, who is a Congo national, had to visit Dubai for a day in between the festival.He did not have a multiple entry visa to visit Dubai, but that was also made possible by the Minister’s office.It was interesting to note that the IFFK authorities could get the visas cleared for their delegates through a local call which, otherwise, would not have been easy for them.
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