Date:03/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/03/stories/2006120301271100.htm

National

Regional cinema in the doldrums

Special Correspondent

Shoestring budgets, falling audience interest plague producers

They solely rely on calls from film festivals to be screened

Films on social issues get insufficient media coverage

Panaji: Faced with shoestring promotional budgets, unsympathetic exhibitors and dwindling audiences, regional films, particularly art films, now solely rely on film festivals, both domestic and international, to get screened, filmmakers said.

Art filmmakers

Biju, producer of Malyalam film "Saira" which was screened in the `Indian Panorama' section at the on-going International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here, was vocal about the woes of art filmmakers. The screening of such a film in the `Indian Panorama' category ought to have helped its producer elicit financial support, he said.

However, a low budget, art film like "Saira" now had to solely rely on film festivals to get a screening, Mr. Biju added.

Some regional filmmakers made no secret of their disillusionment with the media. Rajnesh Domalpalli, producer of "Vanaja," an art film set in rural south India that explores the deep chasm that divides classes, as said that "regional cinema was in dire straits."

Blaming the media for not propagating art films, Mr. Domalpalli said: "The media chases only big budget films and stars. Films on social issues fail to get enough media coverage." Concurring with Mr. Biju, Mr. Domalpalli said that only calls from international film festivals helped producers of such films sustain themselves.

Marathi film industry

However, matters appear to be rosy in the Marathi film industry. Gajendra Ahire, a film producer, said that problems plaguing the Marathi film industry were different.

Despite the huge demand for Marathi films, distributors had failed to explore these markets. He, however, added that Marathi producers had realised that the key to success in the international market was to "universalise language cinema."

A revival

The Konkani film industry in Goa is seeing a revival after 20 years.

A Goan film producer, Rajendra Talak, said the revival was possible due to support from the State Government. He had premiered two Konkani films at the IFFI held in Goa last year.

Subsidy

He felt that other State Governments must emulate Goa, which recently unveiled a financial assistance scheme that gives subsidies and bonus points for regional films. The abundance of prints of films from other languages is the biggest challenge for Kannada film producers, T. S. Nagabharna, producer and director of Kannada film "Kallarali Hoovagi," said.