Indian Cinema’s Global Acceptance and Cinematic Uniqueness Increasing-Secretary, I&B

New Delhi, May 20: With an objective of creating a global footprint for Indian Cinema in its centenary year, the India Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival in France has organized a series of panel discussions on contemporary topics related to Indian Cinema. The objective has been to enable the collaboration and partnerships for promoting India as a filming destination for films and documentaries.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary I&B, Shri Uday Kumar Varma, emphasized the significance of the centenary celebrations. He said that Indian Cinema’s success lay not in its acceptance among a larger global audience but in its unique cinematic approach. Highlighting the initiatives to make India an attractive Filming destination, Shri Varma said that the Ministry was setting up a “Single Window Clearance” mechanism for foreign production houses interested in shooting films within India. In this context, Secretary mentioned that a special committee had also been set up by the Ministry to review the mandate and functioning of CBFC so as to enable it to deal with contemporary requirements of certification. He also added that in order to enable young independent filmmakers to showcase their work, the Ministry was intending to create special screening facilities to promote cinematic hubs.

The India Pavilion at Cannes is hosting a number of key events like celebrating significant projects, which were a part of Film Bazaar 2011, The LunchBox, and Monsoon Shootout. There are panel discussions on contemporary topics related to Indian Cinema. Rajeev Masand, acclaimed film critic and TV presenter engaged filmmakers on sessions which included breaking barriers in filmmaking and the current scenario of Indian Cinema. The participants in these sessions include Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Ritesh Batra, and Amit Kumar. Special sessions and discussions also seek to highlight recent successful Indian co-productions with international producers. The interactions and discussions at India Pavilion bring to the fore, the films scenario in India and aim at giving the Films their due credit not only in India but at a global level.

With India celebrating 100 years of cinema, there has been a significant rise in the number of delegates to the festival from the previous years, to celebrate this great occasion amongst the global film fraternity. This year, the Cannes Film Festival is celebrating the centenary of Indian Cinema where India has been accorded the status of ‘Special Guest Country’. The Indian Pavilion has witnessed the participation of key stakeholders who are keen to know about Indian Cinema.This year is seeing five Indian films in diverse sections at Cannes. These are Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly, Ritesh Batra’s debut feature film The LunchBox , Bombay Talkies, Amit Kumar’s Monsoon Shootout , and veteran filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s Charulata.