YAMUNA NAGAR: Wellknown actor Om Puri who is also the Chairman of the National Film Development Corporation, today said that around five films will be sent every year for the Haryana International Film Festival by the Corporation.
Addressing the media at the ongoing 3rd Haryana International Film Festival today, Om, to whom a special tribute is being paid at the Festival, said that the NFDC had its own limits but it would also consider any proposals from filmmakers from the state who approach the Corporation.
He lauded the concept of holding a festival in a comparatively small town like Yamuna Nagar and said this was the best way to spread the message of good and healthy cinema.
Answering a question, he said cinema was still not getting its due recognition after the rise in the eighties and nineties. He felt that the National Film Awards should concentrate on meaningful ‘cinema of excellence’ since popular commercial films could vie for other private awards.
Cinema is not mere entertainment and can be used to inform and educate, but it was unfortunate that it had been taken over by commercial interests who only looked for profits without realizing that cinema could be used social empowerment. It was unfortunate that less than ten out of every 100 films could be considered good cinema.
He said the NFDC had urged the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to re-introduce the screening of NFDC films on Doordarshan.
Seema Kapoor, whose film ‘Haat – the Weekly Bazaar’ is being screened as part of a tribute to Rajasthani cinema, said her film had won accolades at several places being part of the Indian Panorama and also gone to several international film festivals including Cairo and won an award at MAMI in Mumbai, but had not yet been commercially released. The film was produced for the NFDC.
Referring to the theme, she said that there had been no adverse reactions and Puri added that the film must have been seen by over 15,000 people in Festivals or Panorama screenings.
Puri added that a lot of money needed to be put into publicity for making any film successful. Most films managed to make their money only in the first two or three days before piracy took over, and this was the reason for simultaneous nationwide releases.
