NEW DELHI: The film "Ancient Architectural Styles of Kashmir” by veteran filmmaker of Kashmir Mushtaq Bala is being screened at the 17th Kolkata Film Festival on 17 November.

The film highlights the architectural excellence and blending of different architectural patterns through ages into Kashmir architecture. It aims at exploring the salient feature of both the residential architecture and the monumental architecture so as to reveal how Kashmiri architecture, under various historical, social and cultural milieus has assimilated influences from the Buddhist, Greek, Central Asian and Indian architectural styles and achieved an identity of its own.

A study of ancient architectural styles of Kashmir, among other things, augments the historical consciousness of the audience by unraveling the cultural grandeur of the past of Kashmir.

Historians Kapila Vastasayan and F.M.Hasnain , INTACH, Director Salim Beigh are among the experts featured in the film.

This is for the third time Bala has made his entry into the Kolkata Film Festival. Known for his skillful traits of filmmaking, he earlier had been felicitated for films “Budshah” and “Sufiana Music of Kashmir” in 2008 and 2009 respectively

“Ancient Architectural Styles of Kashmir” has won wide acclaim and critiques. The film was assigned to Bala by the Films Division in 2010.