A pavilion at last for Indian films at Cannes Festival

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

CANNES, MAY 14. India's Information and Broadcasting Minister, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, opened the country's pavilion here at the Cannes International Film Festival today.

This is the first time that India has a pavillion - all along it was a stall by the National Film Development Corporation of India - at this festival, now into its sixth day. What is more, this is the first Indian Minister, in the past 10 years, to visit Cannes.

Speaking to The Hindu at the India Pavilion, Mrs. Swaraj said the whole thrust of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had changed. ``It is now part of the economic mainstream of activity. So you have to explore new areas of selling Indian entertainment programmes - cinema is an integral part of this - and what better place can there be than Cannes for a beginning''.

Although Cannes is renowned for its movies, nobody can deny the fact that there does exist a very important market there where celluloid dreams are bought and sold. ``I think this business aspect has been overlooked by India all these years. And I pointed this out to our film industry, and told them that the Government can take a more active initiative in selling Indian cinema,'' Mrs. Swaraj explained.

If the movie industry so desired, the Government could think of joint participation in festivals such as Cannes. ``Of course, we took the decision quite late, and so the time was very short for us to expect the industry to take part at Cannes in a big way this May. Even as far as the pavilion is concerned, we could manage only a small one. Next time, we hope to do it in a much bigger way,'' the Minister said, looking radiantly hopeful on the terrace of the India Pavilion overlooking the bright blue Mediterranean Sea.

Ray's works sold

There were other developments to make Mrs. Swaraj happy. Yesterday, the National Film Development Corporation, which is a part of the India Pavilion, sold some of Satyajit Ray's works for theatrical release in Spain. The NFDC has been organising a few screenings of Indian films at the Cannes market. ``I saw the poster of an Indo-Canadian joint production - with Om Puri on it - in the Canadian pavilion. This made me really glad,'' Mrs. Swaraj said.

She stated that she planned to consult the advisory committee on cinema after returning from Cannes to try and work out the modalities for a fuller industry participation. ``There are illustrious producers on the panel, like Mr. Yash Chopra and Mr. Mani Ratnam. I would tell them all about Cannes, and I hope that they, in turn, will motivate others to join this festival in a big way. This, I am sure, will help India to sell its cinema all over the world''.

The Minister felt that ``our celluloid fare, both commercial and arthouse, has excellent potential in the global market. We produce all kinds of movies, and I am sure we have the talent and capability to make what the world wants to watch. We can think of different themes, instead of, for example, triangular love affairs.''

Mrs. Swaraj added that if Indian cinema had till now been confined to the country, it was only because the producers and financiers did not look elsewhere. They were content catering to a large population.

The Minister was confident that the ``Government's shift from a stall existence at Cannes to a pavilion was a major one which would help popularise Indian pictures in Europe and elsewhere, paving the way for co-productions and greater respectability in the festival circuits.

This thrust, part of the BJP Government's new policy on entertainment, will continue with greater vigour in the days to come, Mrs. Swaraj concluded.

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