Policy for U’khand Film Industry is need of the hour!
Policy for U’khand Film Industry is need of the hour!
By
Jayprakash Panwar “JP”
It is an ironic situation that the Uttarakhand government is not taking the
regional film industry in a serious way. The latest agitation and hunger strike
by the artists and regional film community is an inevitable action against the
decision makers. So far, no such window exists in the state where the film
community can seek help and advice from the government. It is a dilemma for the
community where to go? Whom to ask? And, how to go ahead? The potential for the
regional film industry and associated employment is abundant. It is expected
that the annual turnover of the regional audio-video production is more than Rs
100 million in the state.
The film industry of Uttarakhand is unorganised and the time has come for it to
organise as that is the next step for inevitable growth of the sector.
In India,
today, 50% of the total revenue is based on the regional film industries, which
means the share of Bollywood is just confined to 50% and the rest is dependant
on regional films. The Uttarakhand government should not forget that there are
so many countries in the world whose population is far less then Uttarakhand
but they have an advanced film industry, film board and institutions.
Uttarakhand with its 8.5 million population provides a huge potential for
regional film and film software production, employment and development in the
the future, if the government were to develop an organised environment for the
development of local film talent. In the UK,
US and Canada,
Bollywood films are generating good revenue even with the relatively small NRI
population. The recently organised Uttarakhandi NRI events New
Jersey, America
has shown the potential our artists have. They attracted a large number of NRI
Uttarakhandis from the US, Canada, even the UK. Now, Narendra Singh Negi,
Girish Tiwari ‘Girda’, Professor Shekhar Pathak and new generation artists like
Pritam Bartwan and Dangwal are going abroad to give their cultural
presentations.
The taste of the audiences is also changing across the world and they want to
films from different regions with subtitles. The international film festivals
are also giving space to regional and local films of the world. The artists and
the film community of Uttarakhand are growing on their own way without any
support of the Uttarakhand or Central government. Uttarakhand is a progressive
state of which about 40% of the community lives outside and it is hungry to
keep in touch with the roots by any means. Films are one of the best media
which can play an intermediary binding role.
The new digital technology has given tan opportunity local artistes to transfer
the cultural knowledge into digitally produced forms like VCD and DVD with
multilingual titling. The opportunity for the regional film industry not just
confined to the region, it has a global scope. The Uttarakhand government
should not forget the potential of the audio-visual media as compared to print.
Nauchami-Narayan was just an alarm to awaken the dysfunctional system and
governance. This example does not mean film-makers will always be against the
government but it does indicate the spread and popularity, as well as the
potential of the new digital media. There are about 16,000 villages in the
state with television sets as well as VCD and DVD players. If you calculate the
number of television sets by the counting number of families, a surprisingly
large number results. Now, almost every village is electrified and there is no
other means of entertainment. The regional films and VCD album have given them
a new way of entertaining themselves. The demand for such films and videos is
increasing by the day. Whether the Uttarakhand government considers this the
reality or not, the organisation, proper legal framework and policies, strategy
for regional film development and encouragement of regional talent pool are the
need of the hour.
It is necessary, therefore, for the government to consider this matter
seriously and form a regional Film, Television, Radio and New Media Board to
facilitate the process of regional programming and production. In the first
stage, government can initiate a state level body to serve all audio-visual
media by establishing a facilitation centre or a single window system for
permission and government assistance for shooting, registration of production
firms and companies, registration of writers, directors, editors, producers,
lyricists, singers, actors and technicians. The announcement of annual awards
for the best audio-visual work and holding of regional, national and
international film festivals annually would encourage film-makers. The
screening of such films in all film theatres of the state, at least for one day
in a week, could be made mandatory. All this would not entail a huge economic
burden on the Uttarakhand government. There is also the need for a regional
bench of the Film Censor Board in the state, for the facilitation of
certification of regional films and other related production.
(The writer is a freelance journalist and a documentary film maker - presently
a Ford Foundation media and digital film art fellow at the Australian National
University (ANU), Canberra,
Australia.)
Published in Garhwal Post (Please follow the link below)
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