Special Report On FICCI By Jyothi Venkatesh

Special Report On FICCI By Jyothi Venkatesh

“WE WANT SELF REGULATION MORE THAN NO REGULATION”, SAYS SHRI AMIT KHARE

Delivering the keynote address at the FICCI, Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, said that though he is a bureaucrat, he prefers less regulations and ideally would prefer to have self regulation rather than no regulation at all as far as government policies from time to time are concerned, since he is of the opinion that it is the only way to enable the film industry to grow. Mr Khare added that the FICCI notes prepared by Dina helps the Ministry in taking various policy decisions every year. Mr Khare added that he endorsed the statement of our honorable me Minister Shri Narendra Modi that we should have a global summit every year in order to develop Indian film industry so that we can easily compete with various other countries as far as films are concerned, not only qualitatively but also as far as quantity is concerned.

Mr Khare said that the government is intersed in helping the film industry in India to grow so that in turn the government also can be benefitted a lot. “We have already reduced the GST rate from 28 % to 18% as far as entertainment tax is concerned. We have succeeded a lot in eradicating the dreaded issue of piracy. Mr Uday Singh of the Star Group has played a very vital role in discussions with the Ministry of Finance in all the major policy decisions which h have helped the film industry prosper in a big way. Today we have 875 private channels and 24 Doordarshan channels. If private sector makes 200 films every year, NFDC which is a government wing makes very few because the government wants to play the role of a facilitator not a regulator  and wants to encouraged co-production amongst two or three countries in the world .

FICCI FRAMES Session: Priti Sahani

IT IS THE COMBO OF A WRITER-DIRECTOR THAT MAKES A FEATURE FILM”, SAYS PRITI SAHANI

“The problem is that once a certain kind of film does well, it becomes trendsetter. When few biopics did well, I know there are 6-7 biopics are ready to be directed and released.  But I don’t think that is a rule. The markers from audiences have been very encouraging. There has been eclectic number of stories that were very well received. A good writer cannot be necessarily a good narrator. As a producer it is impossible to read all the scripts that are submitted to you as it is really time consuming. So the writers should try and tell their stories in 15-20 pages. If we see merit in that, then we are very happy to go through the entire development process with a writer. I also think that 15-20 pages are enough to attract director because it is combination of a writer director coming together, that makes a feature film”, signs off Priti Sahani .

Sriram Raghavan at FICCI FRAMES Session: Screenwriters

“SOMETIME THERE MAY BE A TERRIFIC STORY BUT THAT CAN BE HIDDEN IN THE SCRIPT THAT IS GOING ALL OVER THE PLACE”, SAYS SRIRAM RAGHAVAN

At the FICCI session on film writing, the discussion was on how the unambiguous success of well scripted films like Andhadhun, Stree, Badhai Ho. October, Raazi, Uri etc despite  the absence of big stars yet again underscores the great power of good writing. It was discussed that no matter  the genre or type of cinema, an interestingly told story always works inevitably. So is the entertainment industry doing enough to encourage and nurture this resource? Are screen writers finally beginning to get their lawful due/ What are the roadblocks that still needs to be negotiated?This session moderated by Anjum Rajabali celebrated the screenwriter but once more importantly explored  what still needs to be done to facilitate great writing so that the industry continues to churn  out more successful films.

On being asked if the pressure of writing the same kind of story comes after a certain kind of script does well, Akshat Ghildial responded saying, “Yes, after Badhaai Ho, many people came to me saying we want another comedy or another small town film set in north written etc.” On being asked what should the screenwriters do to pitch their stories, Sriram Raghavan said, “We get a lot of scripts but one doesn’t find time easily to read multiple scripts entirely.  Also sometime there may be a terrific story but that can be hidden in the script that is going all over the place. So one should first approach a director with the story or synopsis. Apparently legendary Raj Kapoor always saw three things in a script, is it a good story? Is there scope for good music? And is there a scope for actors to perform on that story”? 

FICCI Screenwriting Juhi Chaturvedi

IT IS ALARMING THAT AFTER FEW BIOPICS HAVE DONE WELL, PEOPLE ARE TAKING RIGHTS OF ALMOST EVERYONE TO MAKE FILMS”, SAYS JUHI CHATURVEDI AT FICCI

Speaking about coming together of a writer director and a producer on board who is ready to back the film financially and importantly, script writer Juhi Chaturvedi who also has the same vision that the writer and the director have because the film ultimately needs to reach people. Juhi Chaturvedi also showed her concern over trends being set after a certain kind of films do well. “After few biopics have done well, people are taking rights of almost everyone to make a film”, said Chaturvedi. What is the way forward or what is it that the industry should do to encourage scriptwriters? On being asked this question, Juhi Chaturvedi said, “Writing process takes a lot of time. Purely for financial reasons, writers sign multiple projects taking the signing amounts to run their houses. The dagger is then on their head. In the process, the quality suffers. It would be great if a good lump sum is given for those 1 or 2 projects that a writer signs in one year.”

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