Soni pitches for films truly representative of India

Film Bazaar promoted Indian films at Cannes too

The films that the rest of the world identifies Indian cinema with,glitzy productions from Bollywood,are already thriving everywhere. The films viewers abroad would rather see,I&B Minister Ambika Soni says,are those that are truly representative of India,such as the reality of life in a rural area,or the struggle in going on a pilgrimage. Young,new directors do make such films but their work is not finding the market they should have,she says.

At the International Film Festival of India,Soni made a pitch for supporting such films by helping find them producers and distributors,freeing them from a restrictive tax structure,and sending them to festivals abroad to get a feel of what audiences there are looking for.

She was speaking at the launch of this years Film Bazaar,a National Film Development Corporation initiative,which has developed a website that has helped nearly 50 films find producers,distributors or gap financiers. Film Bazaar promoted Indian films at Cannes too.

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I think when we produce 1,000-odd films every year from different parts of the country,we should be able to provide them technological assistance and also help them participate (in overseas festivals),so that we know what people are looking for abroad, Soni told journalists.

She said the things that appeal to Indian viewers,music and dance,tragedy and comedy,are sometimes not quite understood abroad. She cited the works of Satyajit Ray,which are appreciated better than Bollywood films.

France,for example,has had plenty of Bollywood but would prefer to see more serious films. There was a fashion two years ago in Paris about Bollywood, said Bertrand Tavernier,lifetime achievement award winner at IFFI 2011.

But we are seeing few,quote,serious films,too few, he added. Now,in France,it is possible to get DVDs of most of the work of Satyajit Ray,and Ritwik Ghatak has just been released on DVD. But for many young directors,this is not the case.

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At home,efforts to promote films by first-timers include their screening at festivals across the country,Soni said. IFFI 2011 is screening Chittagong,about the uprising and made by Bedabrata Pain,who chucked a NASA job to become a filmmaker.