NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati will observe 12 November, as done every year, as the Public Service Broadcasting Day. It is on this day in 1947, Mahatma Gandhi visited the studios of All India Radio, for one and the only time to broadcast his message of peace to the people of Kurukshetra.

To commemorate the occasion, Doordarshan Kendra, Delhi is a organizing a Festival of Films in New Delhi on 11 and 12 November.

Keeping in mind its public service mandate, the films chosen for the festival represent the plurality of thought and ideas of multi cultural society. The films at the same time also represent the range and variety of subjects that Doordarshan has set for itself, an official release states.

Known Unto God produced by Doordarshan Kendra Imphal captures the conflict in the North Eastern region with an underlying message that peace and amity are essential for the growth and development of individuals as well as society.

My Soul My Passion from Doordarshan Kendra Thiruvananthapuram captures the many hues of the culture of Kerala.

The Hamlet of Mountain Monarch, another film from Doordarshan Kendra Thiruvananthapuram, documents the habitat of a wild deer in the hills of Kerala.

The Back Stage Boys is a documentary on illegal emigration of third world citizens to the developed countries and the trauma associated with it. This documentary has been produced by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT).

A number of experts have been invited for interactive sessions with students of mass communication, journalism and other related fields. The Film Festival was inaugurated by S Sundresan, member (finance), Prasar Bharati Corporation at 3 pm today. K Tlanthanga, deputy director general, Doordarshan presided over the inaugural function.

Tomorrow, information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj will release a special cover on the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee of Broadcasting in India. Ramesh Bais, minister of state for information and broadcasting, will preside over the function to be held at the LTG Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi.

As part of the events commemorating the day the Broadcast Engineering Society (India) has organized a public service broadcasting lecture at the India Habitat Centre, in which the Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma and the Times of India executive managing editor, Dileep Padgaonkar, will speak.