In an interview to Festival News brought out by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Sen, a well-known Indian film personality in the international film scene, said if at least 30 per cent of good films could be shown during a festival, it could be called a successful one.

A regular visitor to international film festivals all over the world, he said Indian festivals were quite good even by international standards. "All we require here is that knowledgeable people be selected and allowed to continue so that they can take lessons from past mistakes and there is an element of continuity", he added.

Maintaining that the festival becoming competitive was a mistake, Sen said every festival had two aspects -- aesthetic and commercial. Since there was no business possibility in India, no foreign film maker would send his films to thecountry.

He regretted that good films used to come from East European countries earlier, but after the collapse of Soviet Union, that too had stopped.

He said the first International Film Festival of India in 1952 had inspired him to take to film-making, and added he would never forget the films-- Bicycle Thieves

, Miracle in Milan and The Long Day -- he saw during the 1952 festival.