IFFI sheds obsession with Bollywood, shifts focus to Kerala, north-east

Ziya Us Salam
“Indian filmmaking is not just the Bombay Hindi film industry”
PANAJI: In a welcome development, the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) shed its obsession with Bollywood as the focus shifted to Kerala and the north-east. Speaking at the inauguration of the Indian Panorama section, Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said, “Only Bombay does not reflect India. Indian filmmaking is not just the Bombay Hindi film industry.”
Fittingly, the panorama section opened with the screening of Kerala director K.R. Manoj’s non-feature film, 16 MM: Memories, Movement and a Machine while the first feature film came from Tripura in Kokborok dialect. Called Yarwng, it is directed by Joseph Pulinthanath. “There is a lot of talent and lots of enthusiasm for filmmaking in Tripura,” Mr. Kamat added.
Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Anand Sharma seconded Mr. Kamat, stating, “Till I heard about Mr. Joseph’s film, I did not know the Kokborok dialect existed.”
Hailing IFFI for “bringing together filmmakers from different parts of the country,” he said, “films reinforce our multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-ethnic identity.” The Minister, who had referred to the Tripura film as an “Arunachali film,” however, promised to speak to the Chief Minister of Tripura after seeing the story of displacement of local people in the wake of the hydel project in the border State.
“It is important when we move forward that the displaced people are meaningfully rehabilitated. It is a course I would take up immediately. Nobody should be rendered a refugee in his own land. Also in this explosion of technology and communication and an exponential growth of cinema, there should be a connect with the folklore, classical music, calligraphy. We should not lose our multi-layered identity,” he said.
Yarwng, a 95-minute film, talks of the people who were rendered homeless in Tripura as the State sought a better pace of development in the 1970s.
Profit to society
Mr. Pulinthanath called his film “a plea and a protest on behalf of millions of displaced people.” Dedicating Yarwng to people who have nothing of their own, he pointed out that the films from the north-east are not meant to be entertainers.
“We look for development and welfare of people through cinema. Our films are meant to profit society rather than bring about commercial gains.”Pointing out that Tripura is “a sensitive State sharing its borders with many countries,” he stressed the need for more focussed development.
The border State has no cinema halls or a network for film distribution and exhibition. “We need expertise from the rest of India” he said.
Incidentally, both 16 MM and Yarwng have come through a gruelling competition to be screened at IFFI.
In the fray are 104 feature films and 83 non-feature films.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/24/stories/2008112455542000.htm