films are given a royal ignore by the Powers Of Be!‘We tend to be so Bollywood-centric that real achievements by filmmakers from other parts of the country do not get the same kind of euphoric reception. Manish Jha’s ‘A Very Very Short Film’ won an award at Cannes, but it was buried under endless stories of red carpets being laid out for Bollywood stars,’ said analyst Deepa Gehlot.
‘It always happens that when our regional or offbeat cinema has cleared a path, Bollywood lands up to demand a share of the pie. For years, the national awards and the film festival circuit were looked down upon by the commercial industry as fit for the ‘arty jholawalas’.
‘The minute some prestige, publicity or money is seen going to the ‘other’ cinema, the mainstream guys want to muscle in. Now a large percentage of entries for national awards, the Indian Panorama section and film festivals come from the commercial cinema camps. But it is wonderful to see cinemas from other regions holding their ground.’
So what do you think? Have we been guilt of just concentrating on Bollywood films and ignoring regional cinema in this country?
Courtesy – IANS
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