by BIJEYA JENA
46th International Film Festival of India logo IMAGE/IFFI
The juries for Indian Panorama’s Feature and Non-feature films had an interaction with the press in Goa during the International Film Festival of India, November, 2015 and they spoke about Indian films playing at the festival, along with concerns related to the parallel or art cinema which do not have Bollywood commercial elements like over the top situations, songs and dances.
“Indian cinema is not only Bollywood or films with feel-good story lines,” said Aribam Syam Sharma, head of the Feature Films jury. “We have films dealing with real life in different regions, different cultures of our country, and such films need to be seen by the rest of the country. Diversity is the beauty of Indian culture.”
I was on the jury of feature film section. I suggested, “Such festival films and indie films should be shown in different parts of the country in the auditoria owned by the government, without entertainment tax, so that the cost of the tickets will be less, and it will motivate the common man to experience something different from the mainstream cinema. The revenue could be shared by the smaller producers who otherwise do not get an opportunity to release their films.” I pointed out that to promote art and culture, state patronisation is required. Omar Khayyam could write his poems and gaze at the stars without the survival problem since he was sponsored by the Persian King.
Huffington Post for more