Why, someone wanted to know, did Kabir Bedi get caught up in rank bad films along with all the great work he's known for abroad?

Down in Goa for the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Bedi said people do films "for all kinds of reasons".

"Sometimes you do it just for the cash. Sometimes you just get caught in bad films (without realising it). 'Octopussy', the Bond film, was such a silly thing... but it was a Bond film! There are things you do for strategic reasons," he said.

He plays Mo (Mohan Dagga), an expatriate Punjabi bankrupt businessman, in the Baz Taylor film, "Take 3 Girls", about rappers and the sub-culture of British youth who speak a language the others don't understand.

Bedi added, not without a tinge of pride: "Survival and learning continuously along the way are my reasons for being here. At my age you realise, it's a long-term marathon, not just a 100-metre dash. It's about long-term survival, and I've managed to survive on three continents."

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Foreign, Indian, Goan

For a state where foreign tourists feel at home and see as a 'soft introduction' to India, there were surprisingly few foreign delegates at Goa's first-ever IFFI.

Officials from here who have been trying to reinvent Cannes on the Indian west coast argue that this was the situation in Delhi too, and excuse shortcomings in the event due to its "first time" nature in Goa.

Some suggest that a government-led film festival isn't quite the route to replicating Cannes.

Participants and films from India -- and even the diaspora -- were all over in evidence. To engage local sentiment, those who couldn't make it into the new government-backed privately run multiplex and the redone Kala Academy could see movies on the beach.

Konkani plays were put up on the sidelines of the festival. There was also a host of other activities ranging from music and art shows to a recreated parade of Goa's two main festivals (the Carnival and the Shigmo), even if somewhat lacklustre.

Street clowns on stilts, folk dancers, live bands, street-side art shows, and a dazzlingly-lit-by-night promenade were the other draws. Dec 5 will see a vintage and classic car rally, as the state government pulls out all stops to incorporate every crowd-pulling idea Goa is known for.

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Not shining

Villagers from the tourism-dominated area of Calangute have been protesting against poor power and water supplies and are saying that locals doing business in beachside restaurants are being pushed out of the trade.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, in his hands-on fire-fighting style, has been quick to meet a team from the area and offer a series of assurances.

Protesters have threatened a crowd of more than the earlier 300 if the issue was not sorted out.

While Goa's capital Panaji is decked up as never before and is ablaze with a million tiny bulbs at night and lampposts imported from Europe, infrastructure in the rest of the state is weak and iffy.

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"Kisna"

Here's another period film with a love twist. Subhash Ghai, Javed Akhtar and A.R. Rahman have teamed up for "Kisna", which is scheduled for a "worldwide release" Jan 21 while its music release is slated for Dec 6.

Says Ghai: "There are two heroines, and the story is set in the 1940s. We've mostly seen Indo-British relations from our side, we've always seen it as based on hatred. I found a love story."

Why not Krishna? "Kisna is a symbolic name for a rural boy from the mountains in Uttaranchal. It's a rural name. Had he been born in Delhi, he would have been Krishna," explained Ghai.

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IFFI SMS

Reflecting the Goan sense of humour, here's an SMS doing the rounds: "IFFI festival offer. Dial 100, say bomb in Multiplex & win free trip to Aguada Jail. Best sea facing rooms, free food, clothing available. Hurry offer opens today."

Aguada is Goa's main jail, located in a scenic riverfront setting where freedom fighters were once despatched by the Portuguese. 100 is the police emergency number, and a bomb scare before IFFI in Goa in part contributed to the presence of security personnel who are visible all over the venue.

--Indo-Asian News Service