MUMBAI: Indie filmmakers in India are tired of being on the fringe of things. This is why a select group of independent, Indie filmmakers of India have approached the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry, to appeal for a change in the scenario.
The delegation of independent filmmakers, lead by Onir, Anusha Rizvi and Shonali Bose met with the Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari today. They put forth their “Save Indie Cinema” Petition, which is jointly filled by 45 award-winning film makers and signed by about 10,000 people.
The petition seeks to fight the threats that New Wave Indie Cinema of India faces today. Among the major concerns, indie filmmakers feel non availability of resources to exhibit their films is a limiting factor. “High ticket pricing that is inappropriate for small budget films, inadequate number of shows and odd show timings further destroy the possibility of Indie cinema (regional and Hindi) to have any proper chance at being viewed. It defies logic that a 150 Crores film and a 1.5 crore film are priced by the multiplexes in the same manner,” reads the petition.
Anusha Rizvi, director of small budget yet successful film ‘Peepli Live’ said, “We the petitioners hope that the I&B ministry will take due notice of our petition and help independent film professionals and independent cinema to tell stories that would otherwise be neglected and would make us a poorer society for that.”
Ashim Ahluwalia revealed that the biggest hindrance for Indian independent film makers is in India itself, “It’s not the audience that prevents films from being seen but distributors, theater owners and TV channels, that only operate from the most simplistic belief: that cinema is a Product and can be nothing else.”
The other petitioners include famous names like: Oscar Award and National Award winning Sound Engineer Resul Pookutty; National Award winning film makers Anant Mahadevan, Aparna Sen, Ashim Ahluwalia, Buddhadev Das Gupta, Girish Kasaravalli, Rituparno Ghosh; actor and producer Nandita Das, Juhi Chawla and Sanjay Suri.
