13 January,2013 08:13 AM IST | | IANS
"Many people have criticised Indian cinema and accused it of various faults and frailties that we have, but I do believe that when we sit inside a cinema hall to watch a film, we never ask the caste, the creed and the colour or the religion of the person who is sitting next to me (us)," the 70-year-old said here Friday.
He spoke at the valedictory function of a conference on International Commerce and Management at University of Mumbai, which has bestowed upon a special honour on him for his contribution to cinema.
The veteran says films are a rare medium which binds people from all over.
"We enjoy the same jokes, we enjoy the same music, we cry at the same emotions and I do feel that there are very few institutions left in this world that can say or claim of this kind of integration that exists inside the cinema hall.
"Therefore, I feel that the cinema today is one entity that is left in this world, which under one roof integrates people, rather than divides them, as we can see happening so often and almost everyday," he added.u00a0
