Pickle AFM Nov Edition

www.pickle.co.in NOV 9-15 | 2020

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INDIA FOCUSED AMERICAN FILM MARKET ISSUE

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INSIDE

Jonathan Wolf Managing Director, American Film Market

STORIES

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AFM Brings Together Participants From 78 Countries

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Remake Rights Of Cinematograph Films

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Afm Programme Highlights

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Ramesh Sharma’s New Documentary Gandhi at AFM

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The Warrior Queen of Jhansi at AFM

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Content Buys From India 7

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fro m t he editor

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Visa facilitation is available in over 120 Indian Embassies and Consulates across the world. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting’s Film Facilitation Office (www.ffo.gov.in) is currently accepting applications for film shoots in India.

he five day American Film Market Online 2020 (November 9-13) began on a bright note.

We have brought out India focused Pickle AFM Edition and it is in the AFM Newsstand. This virtual AFM 2020 is one of the most user friendly navigation platforms, connecting the dots of fulfilling the diverse wishes of global delegates.

In fact, the Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to be credited for opening FFO. This has been on talks for over four decades and the execution has happened in the last couple of years and foreign film shoots are being facilitated and streamlined to get the best out of India’s locales and media services.

AFM has gone virtual for the first time in 41 years. It is amazing to know, 19 people from AFM organised the AFM online market, strategising the whole exercise working from home. In normal circumstances, 350 would have been engaged to conduct the physical market.

With one billion mobile subscribers, 550 million plus smart phone users, 620 million Internet subscribers, 950 TV channels, 1,800 films produced annually, 100,000 newspapers and periodicals and over 50 OTT platforms, India’s vibrant M&E industry provides attractive growth opportunities for global and domestic corporations.

The government’s policies are geared towards realizing the full potential of this growing sector.

AFM has participants from 78 countries, 3600 delegates, 1450 buyers, 562 exhibitors, and 465 film screenings.

Added to this are 205 speakers from 20 countries participating in 71 sessions spread over five days.

AFM represents the true spirit of global independent film producers, directors, buyers, content creators, consultants and advisors. In addition to Film Commissions across USA, 25 Film Commissions across the world are attending.

Feel free to email your thoughts and suggestions. We will be most happy to answer any of your questions and we are just a few clicks away to set up meetings (www. pickle.co.in) for collaborating with Indian media and entertainment companies.

In fact, the most important element of AFM is the anticipation among filmmakers and producers to plan and strategise films that would come out fresh to the market in the next 12 to 18 months.

Now that India has opened up business for international business travelers, filming in India is a great opportunity for international film producers. Crews with Film Visa can get to shoot in India and this

n vidyasagar pickle media nat@pickle.co.in, www.pickle.co.in

Pickle Volume XIV 12th Edition Published by Pickle Media Private Limited Email: natvid@gmail.com l Mumbai l Chennai No.2, Habib Complex Dr Durgabhai Deshmukh Road RA Puram CHENNAI 600 028

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ON COPYRIGHTS AND FILMS

REMAKE RIGHTS of

CINEMATOGRAPH

FILMS

The royalty payments to literary Authors pursuant to Section 18 & 19 of Copyright Act 1957 read with Copyright Rules have to be explicitly evaluated at this point of time by the industry leaders, says IP and Media advocate Shekhar Mennon

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emake rights acquisition of Cinematograph Films exists as common trade practice in the film industry since the invention of celluloid.

On acquisition of Remake right, the primary copyright that gets assigned is the Original Literary, musical, dramatic and artistic work(s) and not the Cinematograph film work per-se of the old film producer because the film producer who is acquiring the remake right, he himself produces the new Cinematograph Film work which will be with him for the term till Copyright subsists and that’s for 60 years pursuant to Section 26 of Copyright Act 1957 and not in perpetuity !

Notwithstanding above, the interesting point that being discussed here is on the Royalty payments by the Producers to the Literary work Authors on film remake rights acquisition, post the Copyright Amendment 2012. Literary work authors of Cinematograph Film specifically considered herein are : Story writer, Dialogue writer, Dubbing language writer and subtitling writer of any language.

Its well known within the film industry that prior to June 2012,

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sharing of the proceeds with the literary work Author incorporated in Cinematograph Film work never happened because of the established copyright principle in reference to Indian Performing Rights Society Limited (IPRS) v. Eastern Indian Motion Pictures Association- AIR 1977 SC 1443 wherein the Producer is the first Owner, unless if there exists any contrary provisions, which rarely happened (exceptions may be there, but chances are remote).

However, post the Copyright Amendment 2012, in Section 18 & 19 of Copyright Act 1957, significant amendments got introduced wherein the literary and musical work(s) gets incorporated in the derivative rights of Cinematograph Film work and Sound recording work, the said literary and music authors cannot waive the right to receive the royalties to be shared on equal basis with the producer and tightened with further stringent legislation that if the royalty sharing on equal basis are waived off then the whole contract becomes void. Attached herein the link of Copyright Bare Act for quick reference https:// c o p y r i g h t . g ov. i n / D o c u m e n t s / CopyrightRules1957.pdf

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Shekhar Mennon, is an IP & Media Lawyer and has gained comprehensive exposure in legal, business and strategic functions from Entertainment industry , Copyright Societies and Broadcasting organisations. He bring forth the considerable experience from one of the largest media house – News Television India (presently STAR India) , where he held the position as Company Secretary & Sr. Legal Counsel and being the Board member in holding and subsidiary companies till 2001.Presently an Advocate practicing from 2002 at Bombay High Court as well as in Supreme Court of India

Shekhar Mennon IP & Media Lawyer

Please note that receiving royalties, equal sharing, utilisation of work in any form and void contract provisions of Section 18 of Copyright Act 1957 read with Copyright Rules 2013 is ONLY for literary and musical works incorporated in Cinematograph Film & Sound recording work(s) and NOT for Dramatic (screen play writers) and Artistic work Authors. But interestingly Section 19(8),(9) & (10) on mode of assignment it protects for ANY WORK which includes original Dramatic & Artistic works. Whatever the case may be , original Literary and Musical work(s) are undoubtedly protected u/s 18 & 19 of the Copyright Act 1957 without any iota of doubt but Dramatic & Artistic are in legal limbo for debates and arguments and it’s not the subject matter of this write up.

Thus, those Literary & Musical Authors who are getting royalty on equal share basis on the selling of remake rights by the Producers, the intention of the copyright statute being implemented properly and if not, then the limitation period for filing the suit is always open for the literary Authors / for the NextGen of the said literary Authors because of Section 22 of Copyright Act 1957.

Please note that the cause of action is continuous and it will remain till the Copyright term exists for the Literary Authors or to his legal heirs.

Thus, anytime the present or future generation of Literary & Musical author can claim from the film producer which means the producers are always on potential contingent statutory liability.

Now coming back to the moot question of this article ~ does the literary work Author(s) - Story writer, Dialogue writer , sub titling writer, dubbing writer etc get the equal sharing on royalty from the Film Producers , post the Copyright Amendment of 2102 on sale of re-make rights as provided under section 18 & 19 of the Copyright Act 1957, read with Copyright Rules 2013?

For public limited company or closely held megalith media-entertainment conglomerates, the repercussions and ramifications will be more severe as it will seriously jeopardise the IP Valuations, stock market matrix, tax incidences (both direct and indirect taxes) etc in future date.

The answer is - probably NO, despite of having strict copyright legislation in place. From 2012 onwards thousands of remake film rights would have been concluded, but the situation of sharing of royalty with literary work Authors are doubtful. If it’s happening, the fraternity of Literary Authors would be proliferating with new IP creations and if not the intention of the copyright legislation will be buried in statute books only.

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Thus, the royalty payments to literary Authors pursuant to Section 18 & 19 of Copyright Act 1957 read with Copyright Rules have to be explicitly evaluated at this point of time by the head honchos, CEO, Board members and principal officers or else in any future date, eroding of capital and net worth of producers and / or of companies are imminent on tabulating the royalty payments, damages, fines, penalties, statutory liabilities etc by the attorneys.

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AFM

Brings Together

Participants

From 78 Countries AFM 2020 Online has set the ball rolling on an optimistic note, with active participation from a record 562 exhibitors, stakeholders from 78 countries, over 1,450 buyers and 465 film screenings.

Jonathan Wolf, Managing Director, American Film Market, tells Pickle in detail as to how the event was pulled off during challenging times

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merican Film Market (AFM®) began on a bright note with the virtual global industry participation from 78 countries and 42 U.S. states - more countries than any AFM in the last decade. A record number of 562 Exhibitors are registered for AFM 2020 Online from 48 countries with the largest exhibitor presence coming from the United States with 259 companies followed by Italy (59), the United Kingdom (46), Russia (25), Germany (20), France (19), Canada (17), Republic of (South) Korea (14), Japan (12), and Thailand (11).

There are over 1,468 Buyers in attendance from 66 countries -- the largest number coming from the United States, followed by Japan, the United Kingdom, Republic of (South) Korea, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, and Canada. Buyers from the world’s leading digital

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platforms are also in attendance.

465 films from 184 companies and representing 24 countries will be screening in the AFM’s On Demand Theatre.

In keeping with its mission to provide timely information and knowledge, the AFM will present its largest programming lineup to date with 205 speakers from 20 countries across 71 sessions centered on opportunities and solutions for finance, production and distribution in the wake of the pandemic. Panels and presentations in partnership with leading industry organizations and institutions will also take center stage, including AAFCA, BFI,NAACP, NALIP, NIFS, SAGAFTRA, SAGindie, The Black List, The Film Collaborative, USC Annenberg Hollywood, Health & Society, WGAW, and Winston/Baker.

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The global film industry has set aside this week (November 9-13) to connect for deal making, presentations, and education, and to gather marketplace intel from one another. AFM’s engaging online experience, with the types of serendipitous meetings that happen organically in the halls, hotels and parties each year in Santa Monica, will keep everyone in touch and ensure that independent film continues to reach audiences around the world

How were things planned amid the pandemic?

We did some initial discussions and research on what an online market would look like. We made the decision to go online in July.

That gave us four months. We had much more time than my colleague Jérome Paillard (Head of Marche, Cannes Film Market) had with his market scheduled in May (Marche happened June 22-26). I don’t envy what Jerome had to go through. But we got to learn a little bit from what he did.

We must have looked at 25 different platforms (and picked Filmocracy).

We had to look for platforms that provided pieces of what we wanted to do, so we could put together everything. And the first decision we made was, we didn’t want everyone to feel like they were navigating a website. We don’t want menus and sub-menus and drop down bars and click throughs and searching. You know, there’s a little bit of that here.

But for the most part, we wanted this to be engaging, rather than a website. And we also recognized that there are certain things in the physical market that you cannot do online, so don’t try. There are other things in the online market that you can do better than the physical market. So we wanted to take advantage and enhance those things

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Jonathan Wolf Managing Director, American Film Market

as well. And so, for us, I think the two key decisions were that we were going to make this feel like an event not a navigation exercise, and that we were going to marry together and tie together the best in class of each of the services that we wanted to provide, and then spend our time trying to integrate them as best as possible.

Buyers and Sales & distribution are the heart of AFM…?

Only about a third of our participants are buying and selling. The other two thirds are part of the production community. There are producers, writers, film commissions, lawyers, bankers, sales agents and those who provide production facilities. So, one of the things we had to do in creating the platform was to make sure that we could serve that diverse constituency.

Film Commissions aren’t interested in going to screenings. Buyers aren’t interested in meeting with Film Commissions. So we had to have all these diverse services. Buyers and sellers are the core and the heart. Even though, they represent only a third of our participants, without the buyers and sellers, you don’t have something called a market. You might have a networking event or a conference, but you don’t have a market. So, this was very important to us.

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AFM has always been handholding and supporting the global independent film producers...

What’s not good for the independent community is the growth of mega studios to produce in-house. The reason is, actors may be working a lot, directors may be working a lot, set designers everybody else. But the producer is the entrepreneur, the producer is the one that many times has the idea and wants to go out and create and discover the talent.

And, what happens with a lot of the in-house productions is producers may do this, but they bring it to the studio and it becomes an in-house production. And the entrepreneurproducer never gets a chance to build his/her own business. Their film is bought and owned by that giant label. So for us, we always believe that the creative process happens best in small pockets. The purpose of the AFM is really to enhance and facilitate that diversity, whether it’s diversity by budget, by language by genre, to make sure that consumers ultimately have the greatest choice.

And as long as we have an open marketplace like this, and the artistes and the entrepreneurs can find access to capital and access to the marketplace, the consumer always has choice. And that really is at the heart of what the AFM is.

AFM 2020 can be the example of how a crisis can be converted into an opportunity. At a time when the world is gripped by Covid-19 pandemic, American Film Market was conducted in a successful manner by taking the virtual route. As against 350 people who normally work on the physical market, just 19 from AFM executed everything online working from home 14

Timing year…

of

AFM

this

One, of course, is we are online instead of face to face. The other is there is some uncertainty about when theaters around the world will open. And is that delaying the greenlight of some films that are destined for theaters? We don’t know. You know, I think most are optimistic that theaters will be open around the world by if not spring at least mid summer. And so a lot of the business that’s done at the AFM is done on films that haven’t started shooting yet. So the business is really about films for next fall, next winter a year from now. And so I think there’s a lot of optimism for that and expect to see a lot of business on that piece. In terms of short term, we see the platforms that actually have a shortage of content.

Everybody’s staying at home. We’re all consuming more film, and they see lockdown continuing in many countries often on through the spring. There is actually a shortage of content. The market expected to be brisk for films that are going to be released theatrically in the fall, but there may be some areas that are missing in between or films that may not be targeting the market the right way.

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virtual

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What’s it like going around the Networking Platform at AFM? If you walk into a giant party, and there are hundreds of conversations going on, and you want to talk to people about horror films, and you go to the first group, and its French documentaries, the next group, they’re talking about financing in Spain, and you work for two hours, and you never meet anybody in your topic. Now, I mentioned going to the same party. And there’s a little bubble over every conversation that tells you what they’re talking about.

So you can look and see what’s relevant to you what interests you and go straight over there. This is where technology actually can improve, in some ways, improve the face to face experience, and put your right in a conversation with people who have a shared interest.

Did you deploy AI for networking meetings?

AI won’t work here, we actually looked AI. And the problem with AI is it’s only as good as what you’ve told it.

It has to follow you for a while to learn from you. And in four or five days, it will learn…We’ve looked at some AI and it’s a long way away from working in an environment like this.

Can you throw light on importance of Film Commissions at Location Expo this year at AFM?

Everyone has seen businesses slowing down, productions slowing down.

Film Commissions were all about -- we have oceans, and we have snow, and we have desert, and we have very easy permits-- then it became incentives and how we can provide economics.

But now there’s a third message, and it’s critical how each country and location is dealing with Covid on the sets. So if there was an important market for Film Commissions to be at, it’s at the AFM now. We have more Film Commissions now than we did last year.

What are the takeaways for AFM participants?

It’s almost a summary of what we’ve talked about. I think the first is the education. This is the most diverse education in the film industry than anyone has put on in a week. And I usually don’t sort of overstate things. But I do not know of another event that had such a diverse group of senior executives and experienced filmmakers from all over the world.

That’s the first part. The second part, of course, is the networking, the ability to meet people. And then, of course, the online screenings.

Again, that’s different than being in Santa Monica, where if you miss a screening, it’s one time and you’re done. That’s not the case with online screenings. It will be online through March 2021 for business, if needed.

NAVIGATING AFM 2020  AFM 2020 virtual site map houses eight clickable buildings serving specific delegate needs, powered by different platforms.  On Demand Theatre, powered by Shift72, is the place to watch market screenings  Two stages, supported by Filmocracy, host hour-long sessions programmed by AFM, and topics change every 90 minutes  Powered by Filmocracy, participants can meet in the Networking Pavilion with 180 online tables for video discussions on preset topics or meet-ups they can schedule in advance  Attendees can visit 10 floors containing tables. By logging to AFM2020.online, delegates can participate and park themselves at tables -- and be part of discussions such as co-productions, documentaries and films.  Delegates can click the welcome bag and download the show directory and screenings guide, and visit the AFM Newsstand

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AFM PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS Monday, November 9  Global Sales and VOD in partnership with The Film Collaborative: Wendy Bernfeld, Rights Stuff, Todd Olsson, Highland Film Group, Brian O’Shea, The Exchange, OrlyRavid, The Film Collaborative and Mitchell Silberberg &Knupp LLP, and Gabrielle Rozing, Fortissimo Films.  Using Artificial Intelligence to Inform Success: NadiraAzermai, ScriptBook, Tobias Queisser, Cinelytic, Debajyoti “Deb” Ray, RivetAI, and Andrea Scarso, Ingenious.  California: The State of On Location Filmingpresented by the Film Liaisons in California Statewide (FLICS) Tasha Day, City of Long Beach, Eve Honthaner, The California Film Commission,Sabrina Jurisich, Film Shasta, Beverly Lewis, Placer-Lake Tahoe Film Office, and Donna Washington, FilmLA. Discover New Voicesin partnership with Winston|Baker: Adhrucia Apana, Curiosity Entertainment, JanaéDésiré, Creative Artists Agency, Gina Reyes, Verve Talent & Literary Agency, Sophia Yen, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, and Viviana Zarragoitia, Three Point Capital.  Show Don’t Tell Podcast: Director and host Noam Kroll and screenwriter Bryan Hill to talk Screenwriting on a Micro-Budget.

Trends in Japanese Cinema & Television presented by JETRO: ChiyakoSlawinski, Producer&Consultant and Chuck Williams, Lightbeam Entertainment, LLC.  Spotlight on Russia: Meet Russian Content at AFM 2020 presented by ROSKINO: Evgenia Markova, ROSKINO

Tuesday, November 10  Spotlight On: Production in Alberta presented by the Calgary Film Centre: Linda Ambury, Production Manager and Producer, Luke Azevedo, Calgary Film Commission, Tom Cox, Seven24 Films, Mark Ham, Alberta Film Commission, and Erin O’Connor, Calgary Film Centre.  AFM’s Pitch Conference: Producer & Agent, Cassian Elwes (Mudbound, Dallas Buyers Club), Elizabeth Haggard, Participant Media, andLee Jessup, Screenwriting Career Consultant & Coach.  The Filmmakers Podcast: Hosts Giles Alderson and Ian Sharp talk to Writer/Producer/Director Dan Mazer(Borat, I Give it a Year) about making movies, working on set and the writer/director/producer relationship.  The Producer’s Guide Podcast: Founder of Broken Road Productions, Producer and host Todd Garner and WWE wrestler turned actor John Cenawill discuss Producing Comedy in Today’s Hollywood, A Serious Business.  Indie Film Hustle Podcast: Host Alex Ferrari and Producer Franco Sama on Raising Money in a COVID World & The Future of Film Distribution.  Building a Marketing Toolkit for Independent Features: Katherine MacDonald, Paramount Pictures and Russell Schwartz,Pandemic Marketing Group.  High Concept and Low Budget: Using the Writers Guild of America Low Budget Agreement in Uncertain Times: Bradford SchlederWGAW and Joy Young-Sang,WGA.  Made by Africans, Watched by the World:MayenzekeBaza, AAA Entertainment, Bradley Joshua, Gambit Films, RethabileRamphakela, Burnt Onion Productions, Pascal Schmitz, AAA Entertainment.  Navigating and Negotiating Intimacy on Setin partnership with SAG-AFTRA:Amanda Blumenthal, Intimacy Professionals Association, Gabrielle Carteris, SAG-AFTRA, Jim Kleverweis, Executive Producer (Euphoria, Insecure and Silicon Valley), Alicia Rodis, Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, and David White, SAG-AFTRA.  New Zealand: Challenges and Opportunities for Film in a COVID World in partnership with the Screen Production and Development Association of New Zealand: Richard Fletcher, SPADA and Libertine Pictures,Patrick Frater, Variety, Rob Tapert, Executive Producer (Don’t Breath, The Grudge), Chelsea Winstanley, Producer, Executive Producer, Director (This Too Shall Pass).

Wednesday, November 11  Producing Without a Completion Bond featuring Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, Brad Krevoy, Motion Picture Corporation of America, Brian O’Shea, The Exchange, and John Sloss, Cinetic Media.  Low Budget Films with Huge Profit Potential: Jillian Apfelbaum, Village Roadshow Pictures, John Rhodes, Screencraft, Nick Spicer, XYZ Films, and Zachary Tarica, The Forest Road Co.

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AFM PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS  Managing Financial Risk from Script to Screen: Ryan Broussard, Media Services Payroll, Gregoire Gensollen, Tucker Tooley Entertainment, David Offenberg, Loyola Marymount University, Gary Raskin, Raskin Gorham Anderson Law LLP.  Facts Matter: Health & Science Accuracy Onscreen in partnership with USC Annenberg Hollywood, Health & Society: Kate LangrallFolb.  Blockchain Streaming Platforms presented in partnership with the Blockchain Global Entertainment Alliance: Patrice Poujol, Lumiere Project, Jake Craven, Breaker, Adrian J. Garelik, CEO, Flixxo, Trinabh Gupta, UCSB, Serban Simu, Eluvio.  Film Riot Podcast: Host Ryan Connolly and writer/director Colin Levy talk Directing a Blockbuster Film on an Indie Budget.

Thursday, November 12  How to Secure the Right Cast for a Greenlight: Randall Emmett (The Irishman, Power), Caroline Couret-Delegue, Film Seekers,Jenny Jue, Downtown Casting,Laura Rister, Untitled Entertainment.  Pandemic Production Challenges & Solutions: Richard Botto, Stage 32, Chris Moore, Producer (Manchester by the Sea and Promised Land), Celine Rattray, Maven Pictures, and Jennifer Westin, MarVista Entertainment.  What’s Working in the Pre-Sales Marketplace: Kimberly Fox, MadRiver International, Jeffrey Greenstein, Millennium Media, Inc., Jeremy Kay, Screen International, and Nat McCormick, The Exchange.  The Black List Can Change Everything About How You Find Future Projects with The Black List’s Franklin Leonard and Terry Huang,  A Conversation with Lloyd Kaufman:Make Your Own Damn Movie in 60 Minutes or Less!

Who Did I Offend Now? Cultural Competency in Storytellingpresented in partnership with the NAACP:Kyle Bowser, NAACP, Darnell Hunt, UCLA, and Brittany A. Little, Universal Television.  U.S. Film Incentives: From Application to Audit presented by Media Services Payroll Presentation: Nicole Ameln, North Star Incentives, Inc., David Benavente, Cast & Crew Entertainment Services, David Brauer, Brauer& Co., PC, Marco Cordova,Monarch Private Capital,Ryan Broussard, Media Services Payroll.

Friday, November 12  Working with Sales Agents: Tamara Birkemoe, Foresight Unlimited, Clay Epstein, Film Mode Entertainment, and Jordan Yale Levine, Yale Productions.  Keep Calm and Carry OnFilming in partnership with the British Film Institute (BFI:) Adrian Wootton,Film London and the British Film Commission, Anna Mansi, British Film Institute, Julia Oh, Film4, and Alison Thompson, Cornerstone Films.  Deciphering Streaming Models & the Path to VOD Distribution: Audrey DelaneyBlue Fox Entertainment, Bruce Eisen, Digital Advisors Linda Nelson, Indie Rights, Lise Romanoff, Vision Films, and James Schamus, Symbolic Exchange.  Standing Out in the Streaming Game - What Platforms and Audiences Want:Scilla Andreen, IndieFlix,Cameron Douglas, FandangoNOW, and Erick Opeka, CinedigmDigital Networks.  Distributing & Monetizing Feature Documentaries: Anna Godas, DogWoof,Gregg Goldstein, Variety, Kevin Iwashina, Endeavor Content,John Von Thaden, Magnolia Pictures, Krista Wegener, Participant Media.  Navigating Hollywood During COVID-19 : How To Find Success For Your Project During A Global Pandemic in partnership with the African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA): Jen Barrett, Creative Shop Facebook, Megan Colligan, IMAX Entertainmentand IMAX Corp, Malik Ducard, YouTube, Mike Jackson, Lifted Film Co., and Gil L. Robertson IV, African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA).  Everything You Imagine In One Country: Colombia:Catalina Porto, Caracol TV  Casting Global Talent: Who do Latinx Audiences Want to See? in partnership with the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP):Christopher Acebo, Broken English Productions, Aaron Ashford, Pantelion Films, Liliana Espinoza, NALIP, Carla Hool, Casting Director.

For more information visit americanfilmmarket.com.

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NEW TAKE ON MAHATMA

Ramesh Sharma’s

New Documentary

on m Fil

Gandhi at AFM Ahimsa Gandhi: The Power of Powerless, which won the Global Peace Award at the United Nations, is about Ahimsa with respect to Gandhi, and his influence on the world movements, and the importance of nonviolence and its relevance in contemporary times. Distant Horizon is handling the film at the American Film Market 18

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AHIMSA

GANDHI: THE POWER OF THE POWERLESS

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influence on the seminal world movements that took place, for instances, his influence on the civil rights movement in America, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the Solidarity Movement in Poland, the Velvet Revolution of Czechoslovakia, and the independence of India. So it is about the importance of non-violence and its relevance in contemporary times.

he documentary Ahimsa Gandhi: The Power of Powerless by Ramesh Sharma pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of his 150th birthday and honours him as the leader of India’s non-violent independence movement. The sales agent of the film is Distant Horizon. The film is produced jointly by Anant Singh (South Africa’s Videovision Entertainment), Jean Luc Berlot, Xavier Couture, Ramesh Sharma, Uma Gajapati Raju, Sanchaita Gajapati Raju The new movie on Gandhi is currently screened for buyers at Netflix type American Film Market on Demand platform. Ramesh Sharma is a well-known award-winning feature film and documentary Producer/ Director in India whose films have won numerous awards in Indian National, as well as International Film Festivals. He is the recipient of six National awards and numerous International awards (including the Opera Prima in the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival) and his film, The Journalist and the Jihadi – The Murder of Daniel Pearl was nominated for two Emmy awards in the USA. Ahimsa Gandhi: The Power of Powerless is about Ahimsa with respect to Gandhi, but more importantly Gandhi and his

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The film, whose run time is 108 minutes, was shot on 4K and comes with surround sound 5.1 audio. The feature documentary weaves in rare archival footage, photographs, inspirational songs, to put together a compelling and powerful narrative of the impact of Ahimsa – NonViolence.

U2 and AR Rahman have done the title track. In light of the violence and the racism that is prevailing in the world today, not only in the United States but also the rise of Nationalism in Hong Kong, Gandhi’s message of Ahimsa is even more relevant today.

U2 and AR Rahman have done the title track. In light of the violence and the racism that is prevailing in the world today

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He carried freedom stuggle, but according to 1000 year old India’s tradition -- Non Violence, Ahimsa The film also narrates the impact of the Gandhian message of Non Violence worldwide; how it inspired Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in USA, the Solidarity Movement in Poland, The Velvet Revolution of Havel, and the Anti- Apartheid strife in South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s fight against injustice, oppression, racism and his struggle to restore basic human rights and dignity for the coloured citizens of his country.

In short, the film decodes the power of Non-Violence and why it remains relevant to this day.

Along with interviews with world renowned scholars, biographers, as well as close family members of Mahatma Gandhi and Nobel Laureates such as The Dalai Lama and the former Polish President Lech Walesa, the feature documentary

captures rare archival footage, photographs and inspirational songs in order to put together a compelling and powerful narrative of the impact of Ahimsa- Non Violence in some of the seminal political movements of the 20th century and its continuing relevance for contemporary times.

As Martin Luther King Jr. says in the film, “The choice is no longer between Violence and Non Violence. it is between Non-Violence and NonExistence.”

The film was shot in India, South Africa, US and Europe. U2 and AR Rahman have done the title track.

In light of the violence and the racism that is prevailing in the world today, not only in the United States but also the rise of Nationalism in Hong Kong, Gandhi’s message of Ahimsa is even more relevant today.

The choice is no longer between Violence and Non Violence. it is between Non-Violence and Non-Existence 20

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INDIAN QUEEN AT AFM

The Warrior Queen of

Jhansi at AFM

Swati Bhise’s The Warrior Queen of Jhansi, a historical story of a feminist icon in India and a fearless freedom fighter, is screened for buyers at the American Film Market. Pure Filx/Quality Filx is the sales agent of the film 22

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Swati Bhise Producer, Director - The Warrior Queen of Jhansi Cayenne Pepper Productions

After Ramanujan, I wanted to make a film on Rani Lakshmi Bai, primarily to have the world witness her story. I hope everyone realises that we need to make an effort and take our stories outside of their domestic boundaries

T

he Warrior Queen of Jhansi, a 2019 period film on the 1857 Indian rebellion against the British East India Company, is at AFM for buyers’ screening at the AFM on Demand platform.

The film was co-written, produced and directed by Swati Bhise through her production company, Cayenne Pepper Productions.

Devika Bhise, who also co-wrote the script, plays the lead role of Rani Lakshmibai. Pure Filx/Quality Filx is the sales agent of the film.

The film is a historical story of the Rani of Jhansi, a feminist icon in India and a fearless freedom fighter. She earned a reputation as the Joan of Arc of the East when in 1857 India, as a 24-year old general, she led her people into battle against the British Empire.

Her insurrection shifted the balance of power in the region and set in motion the demise of the British East India Company and the beginning of the resistance against the ensuing British Raj under Queen Victoria.

“Just 25, Laxmibai trained a regiment to protect the kingdom of Jhansi from annexation by the powerful British East India Company. Her bravery and convention-flouting spirit are undeniably inspirational,” says The New York Times in its review of the film.

Rupert Everett, Derek Jacobi, Ben Lamb, Jodhi May and Hindi actors Yatin Karyekar, Milind Gunaji, Ajinkya Deo and Arif Zakaria are part of the movie’s cast.

“The film is the directorial debut of Swati Bhise, a Mumbaiborn, New York-based dancer and choreographer. Her principal collaborator is her daughter, Devika Bhise, who helped mom and Olivia Emden write the script and who plays the rani (or queen).

The younger woman even directed the last few days of shooting after her mother was hospitalized with pneumonia,” says The Washington Post in its review.

It adds: “The Bhises surrounded themselves with pros, including actors Rupert Everett, Derek Jacobi and Jodhi May, as well as an experienced production team. The result is a film with striking locations and sumptuous visuals.”

Swati Bhise, who served as the executive producer and Indian cultural consultant for The Man Who Knew Infinity, which was on the life of Srinivasa Ramanujan, explains what mad her to make the movie on Rani Lakshmi Bai.

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“After Ramanujan, I wanted to make a film on Rani Lakshmi Bai, primarily to have the world witness her story. I hope everyone realises that we need to make an effort and take our stories outside of their domestic boundaries. The West is not really dying to hear any of our stories, there’s a lot of resistance. They will say that Rani Lakshmi Bai is a myth, they’ll say she didn’t exist...or they will say that a film on her story is not really up to Hollywood standards, because you don’t have a budget of 100 million,” she says in an interview to First Post.

“Even some Indians will resist and question the need to take her story to Hollywood. I just tried to make a film about an amazing Indian woman and make everyone understand that she deserves to be a role model for every woman; irrespective of whether they are Indian or not. I hope more stories like this get out of India so Hollywood begins to pay attention to positive and affirmative stories about Indian characters instead of continuing to build an endless list of negative and stereotypical ones,” she adds.

The film was shot in 2017 in India and Morocco, with a small portion set in the UK. Recreating a bygone era was a challenge since Bhise wanted authenticity. That meant minimal make-up for the queen and silks in the Paithani, Kota and Chanderi weaves for the costumes, which Bhise created with Vidhi Singhania.

A combination of real locations and sets were used. Shoot happened in the palaces and forts of Jaipur and Jodhpur as well as Ouarzazate in Morocco, home to the Atlas Studios, where many Hollywood period productions were shot. Post-production was completed in 2018.

With this film, Bhise has made Rani Lakshmi Bai a global feminist icon and tells her story through an authentic, non-exotic narrative.

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Most Awaited

Films of

India Some are ready to hit the big screens. A few of them need shooting days, while some other flicks are in post-production stage. Here are top 2020 Indian movies delayed and waiting with optimism to release in a theatre near you. A quick look at the most awaited films from India 25

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HINDI ’83

: Not just Bollywood fans but cricket freaks too were eagerly waiting for this movie that is based on the life of veteran cricketing star Kapil Dev, who led the Indian team during their World Cup win in 1983. The Kabir Khan directorial venture stars Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, and was scheduled to be released in April 2020. The makers have claimed that there is no hurry and the movie will not be released on any OTT platform.

Lal Singh Chaddha: The fact that it is an

Aamir Khan movie, makes it a highly anticipated movie of 2020 that was set to hit the screens during Christmas.

The film is a remake of 1994 American blockbuster Forest Gump and is co-produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures. Also starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, the film will see Aamir in a role of a surd (sardar). will now be released next year and will incorporate facets of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai: The remake of South Korean film Veteran, was set to hit the screens in May 2020. However, it is now speculated that the film will go for either Diwali, Christmas or New Year, depending upon the situation. Starring Salman Khan and Disha Patani, Jackie Shroff and Randeep Hooda, the directed by Prabhu Deva and produced by Salman Khan, Sohail Khan and Atul Agnihotri.

Sooryavanshi

: Directed by Rohit Shetty and coproduced by Rohit Shetty, Karan Johar, Aruna Bhatia, Hiroo Johar and Apoorva Mehta; the film stars Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif. The film had a earlier release in March 2020, however, the film has been indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is about a DCP who is the chief of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad and stops a terrorist batch planning to attack Mumbai.

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HINDI Sardar Udham Singh

: Vicky Kaushal is prepping up to impress yet again with this film, based on the life of revolutionary freedom fighter with the same name. Directed by Shoojit Sircar and produced by Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar, the film revolves around Singh, who fought for his country, against the British. The movie will show him take revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Vicky’s first look from the film has already left his fans asking for more. The film is expected to hit the screens in January 2021.

Laxmmi Bomb

: Akshay Kumar’s much touted film, Laxmmi Bomb, may be another one to join the league of movies opting for OTT platforms. The film was set to clash with Salman Khan’s Eid release at the box office this year. Directed by Raghava Lawrence, and produced by Akshay Kumar, Bad-X and Tusshar Kapoor; the film is the remake of the Tamil movie Muni 2: Kanchana.

The comedy horror film, deals with a ghost seeking vengeance for being wronged and haunts everyone who is staying in the house.

Disney +Hotstar

Gangu Bai

: The film, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and produced by Bhansali and Jayantilal Gada; stars Alia Bhatt in a key role.

The film is based on a chapter of Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai about Gangubai Kothewali, the madam of a brothel in Kamathipura. Gangubai was pushed into prostitution at a very young age. she did a lot of work for sex-works and for the well-being for orphans. The film was slated to release in September this year.

However, the release date now is not known.

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tamil Annaatthe

: Annaatthe, tipped to be an action drama film, is written and directed by Siva. produced

by Kalanithi Maran under the banner Sun Pictures.

The film has an ensemble cast comprising Rajinikanth, Meena, Khushbu Sundar, Nayanthara, Keerthy Suresh, Prakash Raj, Soori, Sathish and Vela Ramamoorthy. The music for the film will be composed by D Imman while cinematography and editing are performed by Vetri and Ruben, respectively. Production of the film began with the working title ‘Thalaivar 168’.

Master: ‘Master’, said to be an action-thriller, is

written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, and produced

by Xavier Britto, under the banner XB Film Creators. The film stars actor Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi in lead role with an ensemble cast, featuring Malavika Mohanan, Arjun Das, Andrea Jeremiah, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, and Ramya Subramanian amongst others, play supporting roles. The music for the film is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, whilst cinematography and editing are handled by Sathyan Sooryan and Philomin Raj, respectively.

Soorarai Pottru

Amazon Prime

: Soorarai Pottru is a drama film directed by Sudha Kongara and produced by Suriya and Guneet Monga, under their respective banners 2D Entertainment and Sikhya Entertainment. The film, it is said, is based on events during the life of Air Deccan founder G R Gopinath. In 2018, Sudha Kongara stated that she will be collaborating with Suriya for her next film. G V Prakash Kumar was selected to work on the film’s music, collaborating with director Sudha and actor Suriya for the first time.

Ayalaan

: Ayalaan is a science fiction fantasy film, directed by R Ravikumar of Indru Netru Naalai fame and produced by R D Raja and Kotapadi J Rajesh under their production banners 24AM Studios and KJR Studios. It stars Sivakarthikeyan, Rakul Preet Singh, Sharad Kelkar and Isha Koppikar in the lead roles. The music composed by Oscar-Grammy winner A R Rahman, and cinematography handled by Nirav Shah, and editing by Ruben. The movie is tipped to be a fun filled adventure of an alien and a man.

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TELUGU

RRR

: RRR is a period action film written and directed by S S Rajamouli. It stars N T Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn. It is a fictional story revolving around India’s freedom fighters, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem who fought against the British Raj and Nizam of Hyderabad respectively. in October 2017, Rajamouli announced that his next film after Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, would be produced by DVV Danayya under DVV Entertainments banner.

Krack

: Krack is a police story written and directed by Gopichand Malineni. It stars Ravi Teja, Shruti Haasan, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and Samuthirakani. The film has been produced

by B Madhu under Saraswathi Films Division banner. G K Vishnu handled the cinematography, while S Thaman composed the music and RamLakshman choreographed the action sequences.

Shruti Haasan, whose last appearance in a Telugulanguage film was in 2017 with Katamarayudu, makes her comeback in the Telugu film industry with this film.

Monarch

: Nandamuri Balakrishna’s 106th film has been reportedly titled Monarch.

The action entertainer, which is being directed by Boyapati Srinu, is expected to have Balakrishna in a dual role. The film features Shriya Saran and Anjali as the female leads. Produced by Miryala Ravinder Reddy, the film marks Balakrishna’s third collaboration with Boyapati after Simha and Legend.

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MALAYALAM Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham: Marakkar:

Arabikadalinte Simham is a historical epic war film co-written and directed by Priyadarshan. Set in the 16th century, the film is based on the battle exploits of Mohammed Ali, Kunjali Marakkar IV (Mohanlal)—the naval chieftain of the Samoothiri. Kunjali Marakkars organised the first ever naval defense of the Indian coast by defending Portuguese invasion at the Malabar Coast for almost a century. The screenplay was co-written by Ani Sasi. The film was produced by Aashirvad Cinemas with Moonshot Entertainments and Confident Group as coproducers.

ONE

: One is a political thriller film directed by Santhosh Vishwanath and written by Bobby & Sanjay. The film stars Mammootty, Murali Gopy, Joju George, Nimisha sajayan and Shanker Ramakrishnan. The film was originally scheduled to release on 22 May 2020, but was postponed due to the coronavirus induced lockdown. The film features Mammootty as Kadakkal Chandran, Chief Minister of Kerala. Shooting began in October 2019. The first look poster of the movie was unveiled on 10 November 2019.

KANNADA KGF: Chapter 2: KGF: Chapter 2 is a period

action film directed by Prashanth Neel. A sequel to the 2018 film KGF: Chapter 1, the film stars Yash in the lead reprising his role from the first film and Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt as the antagonist. Principal photography began in March 2019. The film will be dubbed in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu languages. Filming for KGF: Chapter 2 started in March 2019, with a small part of the film having already been shot during KGF: Chapter 1.

YUVARATHNAA

: Yuvarathnaa is an action film written and directed by Santhosh Ananddram, produced by Vijay Kiragandur, and starring Puneeth Rajkumar, Sayyeshaa, Sonu Gowda, Dhananjay and Prakash Raj. The film is being produced by Vijay Kiragandur. This is the third collaboration with Puneeth Rajkumar after Ninnindale and Raajakumara. The principal photography began on 14 February 2019. Bodybuilder Mamatha Sanathkumar will debuting through this film.

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content b u y s from india

d n a

cash carry

FROM INDIA An NRI and his wife decide to stay in his ancestral home, paying no heed to the warnings about ghosts. Soon inexplicable occurrences cause him to call a psychiatrist to help solve the mystery.

AP INTERNATIONAL

Director: P. Vasu Producer: Ramkumar Ganesan of Sivaji Productions Genre: Comedy Horror, 2005 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

Chandramukhi Swapna, a game designer, suffers from PTSD and lives alone with her housemaid.

However, her life turns upside down after a serial killer enters her house, making her play a twisted game for survival.

AP International

Game Over

Director: Ashwin Saravanan Producer: YNOT Studios and Reliance Entertainment Genre: Psychological Thriller, 2019 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

Prabhu Selvaraj, a boxer, is ignored by the boxing association. He tries to accomplish his dream by training Madhi, an amateur fighter.

AP International

Director: Sudha K Prasad Producer: R. Madhavan, Rajkumar Hirani, S. Sashikanth, C.V. Kumar Genre: Sports Drama, 2016 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

32

Irudhi Suttru

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AP International

Director: Pa. Ranjith Producer: Kalaipuli S. Thanu Genre: Action Crime, 2016 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

Kabali Maaran, a doctor, is falsely arrested for the murder of his colleague, Dr Arjun Zachariah. He soon discovers that the real culprit is a lookalike who aims to expose corruption in the medical industry.

AP International

Director: Atlee Kumar Producer: Thenandal Studio Limited Genre: Action Thriller Crime, 2017 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

Mersal Anjanam, who respects all life forms, faces trouble after a rat creates havoc in his house. While he tries to get rid of the rodent, a criminal breaks into his home to find his missing diamonds.

AP International

Director: Nelson Venkatesan Producer: Potential Studios Genre: Comedy, 2019 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

Monster Two childhood friends, Anu and Arjun, decide to get married. However, their marital life becomes complicated due to misunderstandings and miscommunication which leads to a divorce.

AP International

Director: Ashwath Marimuthu Producer: G. Dilli Babu Happy High Pictures Ashok Selvan & Abinaya Selvam Genre: Comedy, 2020 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

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Oh My Kadavule

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When Kabali fights against the oppression faced by the Tamil labourers working in Malaysia, he is imprisoned for 25 years.

Once he is released, he sets out to seek revenge on those who wronged him.

content b u y s from india

A dogged headmistress teaches everyone a lesson in perseverance as she battles bureaucracy and corrupt officials to bring her government-run school up to scratch.

AP INTERNATIONAL

Raatchasi

Director: Sy Gowthamraj Producer: Dream Warrior Pictures Genre: Drama, 2019 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

An anthology of four romantic stories revolving around people of different age groups where the only true thing binding them all together is love.

AP International

Director: Halitha Shameem Producer: Venkatesh Velineni Genre: Romance, 2019 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

Sillu Karupatti A software engineer arrives in India to serve the nation and invest in the country’s welfare. A few corrupt officials and politicians try to stop him while he tries to overcome the obstacles.

AP International

Sivaji

Director: S. Shankar Producer: AVM Productions Genre: Drama Action, 2007 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

DCP Vijaya Kumar goes into hiding to bring up his daughter in a safe environment. However, after her life is threatened by deadly gangsters, he must face his past to protect his daughter.

AP International

Director: Atlee Kumar Producer: Kalaipuli S. Thanu Genre: Action Thriller Crime, 2016 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

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AP International

Vaanam Kottattum

Director: Dhana Sekaran Producer: Madras Talkies Genre: Family Drama, 2020 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

Vikram, a pragmatic policeman, and his partner Simon are on the hunt to capture Vedha. When Vedha voluntarily surrenders, he offers to tell Vikram a story, throwing Vikram’s life into disarray.

AP International

Director: Gayatri, Pushkar Producer: S. Sashikanth - Y.NOT Studios Genre: Action Crime, 2017 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

Vikram Vedha Adithya Varma, the wayward son of a businessman, tries to turn over a new leaf after he falls for Meera Shetty. However, caste issues derail their love life and appear to darken Adithya’s future.

Home Screen Entertainment Director: Gireesaaya Producer: E4 Entertainment Genre: Romantic Drama, 2019 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

Adithya Varma Aaditya, the commissioner of Mumbai Police, sets out to catch Ajay, a drug peddler. However, he uncovers a deeper controversy linked to an international drug lord and must mete out justice.

Home Screen Entertainment Director: AR Murugadoss Producer: Subaskaran Allirajah, A Subaskaran - Lyca Productions Genre: Action Triller, 2020 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

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Darbar

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A man is arrested for murder and put behind bars which leads to his family breaking apart. However, when he is released, he attempts to reconcile with his loved ones but is haunted by the past.

content b u y s from india

A cop, who suffers from family issues, takes up a peculiar suicide case. The plot thickens as similar cases get reported within a span of a few days

Home Screen Entertainment

Kaalidas

Director: Sri Senthil Producer: V. Bhargavi M. S. Sivanesan Mani Dinakaran Genre: Action-Crime Thriller, 2019 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

A special agent is assigned to protect the Indian prime minister who later gets assassinated. Following this, he is tasked with finding the man or group responsible for the assassination.

Home Screen Entertainment Director: K. V. Anand Producer: Lyca Productions Genre: Action Thriller, 2019 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

Kaappaan Dilli, an ex-convict, endeavours to meet his daughter for the first time after leaving prison. However, his attempts are interrupted due to a drug raid planned by Inspector Bejoy.

Home Screen Entertainment

Kaithi

Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj Producer: Dream Warrior Pictures Vivekananda Pictures Genre: Action Thriller, 2019 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

A narcotics officer engages in a cat-and-mouse chase to capture a powerful criminal kingpin not knowing that it could have a connection to a truth in his past.

Home Screen Entertainment Director: Karthick Naren Producer: Subaskaran Allirajah, Lyca Productions Genre: Action Crime, 2020 Sales Email Contact: anish@ homescreenentertainment.ae Contact Mobile Number: 919884223907

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Mafia: Chapter 1

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Madhu Entertainment & Media Ltd.

Director: Siddharth Tripathy Producer: Siddharth Tripathy Genre: Drama, 2019 Available Territories: Entire World Sales Email Contact: madhuentertainment@ gmail.com Contact Mobile Number: +917738508150

A Dog and His Man After getting in a car accident, a pregnant woman discovers a deadly secret about her life that begins to destroy everything and everyone she loves until she decides to escape her present and journey out digging deep hoping to find answers and stumbles upon the clandestine truth about her body, heart and soul.

Madhu Entertainment & Media Ltd.

Director: Chathra Weeraman Producer: Daya Ratnayake Genre: Fiction, 2019 Available Territories: Entire World Excluding Srilanka & South Africa Sales Email Contact: madhuentertainment@gmail.com Contact Mobile Number: +917738508150

AYU (Srilankan Movie) Set in a Himalayan valley, this film is about the journey of a mute boy who lost his mother at birth and is neglected by his father. When his father is sent to jail, the boy faces a lonely future.

The boy’s connection to a Buddhist monk helps him gain strength and transcend his suffering.

With nowhere to go and facing unrequited love, he joins a Buddhist monastery.

Madhu Entertainment & Media Ltd.

Director: Bijukumar Damodaran (Dr. Biju) Producer: Dr AK Pillai Genre: Drama, 2017 Available Territories: Entire World excluding India and Srilanka Sales Email Contact: madhuentertainment@gmail.com Contact Mobile Number: +917738508150

Sound Of Silence This is a story of dreaming the impossible and making it happen. The hero of the story is a baby camel, like a child of about 9 yrs in human terms. and ambition in life is to fly…to fly up into the clouds… to the top of the rainbow.

“Wings or no wings one day I’m gonno fly!..”

Madhu Entertainment & Media Ltd.

Director: Govind Nihalani Producer: Vihaan Dand Genre: Kid Animation Movie, 2019 Available Territories: Entire World Excluding Indonesia, Singapore, Latin America, Taiwan and Srilanka.

Sales Email Contact: madhuentertainment@gmail.com Contact Mobile Number: +917738508150

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Darbar

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After being evicted from his home, a man wanders the streets, adrift in memories of better days.

India

rolls out

red carpet to

foreign filmmakers India, land of beautiful locales and great talents, has reopened its doors for filming in India for global producers and studios. Film Facilitation Office (FFO), set up by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), is currently accepting online applications for foreign producers to shoot in India

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At the recent India Global Week 2020 address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is laying a red carpet for all global companies to come and establish their presence here.

Very few countries will offer the kind of opportunities that India does today. India has opened doors for filming in the country, easing the permission process, a single film visa and facilitate single window clearance systems Photo credit : FFO

I

ndia is committed to welcome the global film community to come and do business in the country and work closely with the domestic media and entertainment industry.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting views cinema as the ‘soft power’ of India, and is working towards making India as film shooting and film friendly destination for the audiovisual sector.

“Our Film Facilitation Office has facilitated over 80 foreign film shootings. Now, it will function as a single window for all Central and State government permissions. I appeal to the global film fraternity, to come invest and shoot in India,” said Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javdekar in a recent interactive session.

At the recent India Global Week 2020 address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is laying a red carpet for all global companies to come and establish their presence here. Very few countries will offer the kind of opportunities that India does today. India has opened doors for filming in the country, easing the permission process, a single film visa and facilitate single window clearance systems.

The M&E industry is one of the champion sectors, enabling the vision of the Prime Minister to achieve a $5 trillion economy. India has enabled digital transformation by increasing economic freedom for the traditional M&E business.

In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, Indian film locales have captured the attention of global producers and viewers. hristopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ (Produced by Warner Bros’) for filming portions of the movie in Mumbai. Mira Nair’s TV series ‘A Suitable Boy’, a six-episode, 349-minute long series, adapted from Vikram Seth’s classic novel, was extensively shot in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, India. It is currently streamed on Netflix across the world and BBC One (in UK and Ireland). Netlflix’s action thriller ‘Extraction’ starring Chris Hemsworth was filmed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Netflix has revealed that ‘Extraction’ tops the list in its 10 most-watched original movies of all time, as of today.

C

Global producers and crews with Film Visa can get to shoot in India and this Visa facilitation is available in over 120 Indian Embassies and Consulates across the world

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I had a wonderful experience shooting in India. It was a fantastic experience, it was very exotic locations, the crew, the filmmakers we partnered up with couldn’t have been more talented, more committed to making a good movie. Indian people were warm, open and friendly and I fell in love with India. I look forward to coming back to India, making another film here soon

Patrick Newall Executive Producer Extraction

Now that the Government of India has opened business visas for overseas companies to travel into the country, global film producers and studios with Film Visa are exploring options to come and film in India.

The aviation restrictions have been lifted for foreign business travellers and companies into India.

Already, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has announced guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for film shooting and media production in the country. Various State governments have also issued SOPs for film shooting in their respective States detailing dos and don’ts aligning with prevailing local Covid conditions. talian filmmaker and producer Sergio Scapagnini is soon set to shoot in India for the new India-Italy co-produced film directed

by Goutham Ghose. UK-based Collin Burrows of Film Treats Production is looking to film in India for forthcoming project. Late last year, Paramount Pictures had announced producing web series ‘The Bear’ for Apple TV to be shot in Madhya Pradesh. The Hollywood project was based on a bestseller novel by Gregory David Roberts ‘Shantaram’.

In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, Indian film locales have captured the attention of global producers and viewers.

“Opportunities exist for great visuals, well written scripts and award worthy acting, but what the Internet has taught us is that consumers want every type of story. The government has allowed hundred per cent foreign direct investment in the filmic content productions. This sector has the potential to create thousands of jobs including opportunities for the unskilled and semi skilled workforce. The incentives under the champion sector scheme will be open not only to film shooting, but also for TV web series filming and foreign filming,” said TCA Kalyani, Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, participating in a recent interactive session.

“I’m very fond of saying that my country has as diverse locations, whatever you want to see in a film, whether it is the mountain, the river, the sea, the island, the desert the crowds and post production facilities, you name it, we have it and you need only one visa to see it all for tourism and one visa for shooting.” said Kalyani. peaking about the internet revolutionising the entertainment sector, Kalyani said that India has enabled digital transformation by increasing economic freedom for the traditional Media and Entertainment businesses to operate. They are also nudging the industry for a better quality of service. The best example for this is that the OTT segment has grown phenomenally during the pandemic, she added.

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Soon, incentives under the champion sector scheme will be open to films, TV and web series filming and post production services. The guidelines are currently being finalised by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India Photo credit : FFO

The Media and Entertainment sector through innovation consistently has the potential to create jobs, especially in new areas of animation, gaming, etc. “The government has allowed 100 per cent FDI in film content productions. This sector has the potential to create thousands of jobs including opportunities for the skilled and semiskilled workers,” she said. n the aftermath of Covid-19, India has announced Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for media production and film and TV shooting.

Soon, incentives under the champion sector scheme will be open to films, TV and web series filming. The guidelines are currently being finalised by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

Film Facilitation Office (FFO), set up by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, acts as a single point of contact for filmmakers to get all the relevant information about India’s film industry ecosystem, and help them navigate through filming guidelines of key Central government Ministries and State governments.

To bring more transparency, coherence and convenience, FFO’s web portal www.ffo.gov.in equips filmmakers to submit their applications online.

FFO acts as a facilitation point for the foreign producers and production companies along with their Indian Producer/Line Producer in assisting them to get requisite permissions, disseminate information on shooting locations and the facilities available with the Indian film Industry for production/post production. FFO also works closely with State governments in assisting them set up similar facilities. Visa facilitation is available in over 120 Indian Embassies and Consulates across the world.

FO is currently accepting online applications for foreign producers to shoot in India. FFO which was set up with a view to promote and facilitate film shootings by foreign filmmakers in India has also been extended to Indian filmmakers as well.

A leading line producer stated that in recent times Film Visas have streamlined foreign film shooting in India. “Quick visa clearances for the foreign crew is one of the reasons why more foreign filmmakers are coming to shoot in India. For shooting in India, foreign filmmakers have to get clearance from the I&B Ministry. The Ministry officials coordinate with the Indian embassies abroad, and help in getting visa clearances faster.”

Over 118 international films have been shot in the last four years and the FFO has been offering all support to filmmakers to shoot in India.

The country is now all set to emerge the favourite destination of foreign filmmakers post Covid.

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It’s time

to plan FILM in

India

India is sending right signals to foreign filmmakers. As a result, the country is witnessing warmth from Hollywood studios.

Christopher Nolan’s experience in filming in India for Tenet has grabbed global attention.

Dilip Singh Rathore, CEO and Co-founder of On The Road India was incharge of production services for Tenet in India.

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting’s Film Facilitation Office is currently wooing international studios and incentive package is on cards. Rathore says India is prepared for post-COVID shooting and expects a flurry of new projects. Excerpts from Rathore’s chat with Vivek Ratnakar

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Dilip Singh Rathore Producer, CEO & Co-Founder On The Road India

The role of Film Facilitation Office has been very important as they did all the heavy lifting and worked as hard as us when we were shooting for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet

Pickle congratulates you on the completion of 25 years of On The Road India, which has undertaken many reputed international projects to keep us all entertained.

Please tell us about your journey.

It’s a good thing that we have now completed 25 years or more in the film production and production services and made many films with international filmmakers. Our journey started very differently. Back then it was a much different industry and production services were looked at in a very different way. I happen to be from a very popular filming destination State called Rajasthan. I was very fortunate to become a part of the productions coming to the State 25 years back. I worked with Mr Shashi Kapoor in the film Ajooba which was shot in India and Russia, among other projects. Eventually I decided to start On The Road India, and it has taken 25 years to reach where we are today. When we were starting, the production was quite different and government’s outlook towards production services and international filmmakers was quite different. Today, the things are much easier with government support. So it has been a long journey.

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Founded by veteran producer Dileep Singh Rathore, since 1996, the work ethic and service of On The Road India has earned the trust of Hollywood studios, international filmmakers and production companies. Its team is based between Mumbai, Jaipur, Los Angeles, Sydney and Rome. This enables the firm to better understand project requirements and to deliver the best location and budgetary solutions for production in India.

On The Road India understands the challenges and risks of shooting abroad and the added complexity and diversity of shooting in India and South Asia.

While there is no question India offers a wealth of opportunities to filmmakers, the challenges that face productions can prove daunting, even to the most experienced producer. On The Road India will help mitigate many of these challenges with honesty, integrity and transparency.

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Do you think India’s outlook has changed vis-a-vis foreign productions in recent times?

Some of the major changes include the ways the government supports the industry. There has been a significant change in the government mindset and now they are more forthcoming in inviting international filmmakers to come and shoot in India. Earlier, government officials were quiet skeptical and used to be very critical about film productions. Even the Information and Broadcasting Ministry permissions used to take anywhere between 6 to 14 weeks and we had to make many rounds to Delhi. But now the production process has really eased off with the government taking it very positively.

Also, earlier we used to bring a lot of crew from abroad as the local crew was not very efficient. But now any international company brings only the key members while the rest of the crew is sourced from India itself. Also, they used to come with a lot of equipment. There used to be a ‘J-Visa’ for filmakers and crew that was complicated and confusing because the J-Visa was mainly for journalistic work in India. Also, the visa process was time consuming.

Now the government has introduced a new category of visa called Film Visa which is very easy to get and the process is quite transparent.

Mehrangarh because of the filming requirements. To shoot the film, we had to completely shut down the entire Fort. We had to make a special arrangement with the royal family of Jodhpur. We would shoot the film during day and open the fort for the public during night. We shot there for 6 to 7 days and then achieved what Mr Nolan wanted to.

Similarly, for Tenet it was very challenging to shoot here in Mumbai. Without the support of the Maharashtra government we could not have achieved what we did. The government got us all the permits for shooting at a landmark location like Gateway of India. We had a huge crew of over 1,500 people and a part of the Gateway of India was frozen. We cordoned off the area with the help of the transport department that diverted the traffic and we finished the shooting without any issue. The building where we were shooting was a high rise and to light around 40 buildings around for a fortnight to shoot an action sequence was a mammoth task that was accomplished with the help of the State government, local crew and our international technicians. Mr Nolan left India on a very positive note.

On The Road India has executed some of the finest executive productions for Hollywood Studios including Tenet and The Dark Knight.

Tell us about your experience of working on the Tenet in Mumbai India. How did it feel to be working with Christopher Nolan?

Interestingly, I have also worked with Mr Nolan’s brother. So I had a very long relationship with them. The Dark Knight was shot in Jodhpur and the film required a very different kind of location. So we had to prepare the backdrop of

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Christopher Nolan, shooting for Tenet in Mumbai

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Has filming in India eased after the formation of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting’s Film Facilitation Office?

The government set up the Film Facilitation Office as an example to give foreign filmmakers confidence that they can come and shoot in India. The role of Film Facilitation Office has been very important as they did all the heavy lifting and worked as hard as us when we were shooting for Tenet. The FFO helped us get all the permissions, whether it was from the Aviation Ministry, Defence Ministry or Information and Broadcasting Ministry. They were working very closely with us shoulder to shoulder. They also played a key role in making all the right introductions and coordinated with the State government to get all the clearances.

Could you list out some of the challenges that you faced?

The message has to be transmitted efficiently to the very local level when it comes to allowing film shootings.

Tenet was a big project and an important film. But if you don’t take any project seriously it brings bad publicity to the country. There has to be a total transparency between the agencies which are involved in the commissioning so that all the permissions granted in Delhi are also transmitted at the local level.

A lot of people do not understand the urgency of the filmmakers to complete the shooting in a limited number of days. Anybody coming from abroad does not have an infinite time. He might be coming for a month or a few days and he needs to do the preparation and shoot within a tight schedule. All the agencies need to go an extra mile to make things happen at the right pace. If that doesn’t happen filmmakers will keep on going to other countries or they may not choose India as there shooting destination. Any permission that needs to be granted should be given within a fixed timeline as filmmakers are ready to pay for that.

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Production Services by On The Road INDIA Tenet (line producer: India) 2020 Space MOMs (producer) 2019 Heartbeats (executive producer) 2017 Fluss des Lebens (TV Series) (line producer - 1 episode) 2017 London Has Fallen (line producer: india) 2016 Point Break (line producer: India) 2015 Monsoon Baby (TV Movie) (line producer) 2014 The Dark Knight Rises (line producer: India) 2012 Samsara (Documentary) (line producer: India, On The Road India) 2011/I Lilly the Witch: The Journey to Mandolan (line producer) / (service producer: India) 2011 The Way Back (line producer: India) 2010/I

What according to you are the three things that attract global productions to look at India now?

The first is story, the second is locations and the third most important thing is the dollar value, as the skill set in India is a lot cheaper than many other countries. We can build a lot of sets at cheaper rates.

The day India becomes as expensive as any other place, fewer people would come to shoot here. They will only come if the story is related with India or for an interesting location.

The government is planning to incentivize filming in India as well for co-production treaties?

Will this be an advantage?

The incentive plan is not there yet but talks are going on. A lot of states like UP, Gujarat and Goa are doing it at the local level but major Incentive from the Government of India is talked about and yet to be finalized.

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How are various State agencies coordinating with the Centre to promote film shooting in their respective States?

What impact has the COVID-19 lockdown had on the industry, especially for people who were on ground?

Every State now is connected to the FFO office in Delhi, which has placed nodal officer in every State. I think they are all coordinating. Recently, I got in touch with the FFO office for scouting filming locations and they were very happy to help me in connecting with a lot of people. They are making a coordinated effort to ensure that everybody is together on the same page.

The pandemic has put everybody one or two years behind their growth targets. It has been very tough for the industry not only in India but across the world. The sectors that have been most affected are entertainment, aviation and tourism. Filmmaking is a collective effort and the crew needs to be together to pull off a project, but the pandemic has prohibited them to do so. The governments have opened film shootings but people are still skeptical. Besides, there are a lot of protocols to follow which is not easy.

The people are afraid, cautious, and they are not very comfortable which has made a huge negative impact on the industry.

Popular filming destinations in India are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat. Some States are not that popular due to information gap as very few filmmakers know about their filming policies. There are also infrastructure and connectivity issues, and little awareness about how to reach those States.

I can’t wait to resume work.

Like I said I have not been on the set and have not travelled in the last nine months, not making a film is the biggest depression for me. So I am looking forward to get back on the set again

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Now that India has given permission to shooting (to those who have film visas), what kind of calls you are getting?

Are the safety protocols in line with global practices?

It is very early to say that things have improved. Although India has opened up, ours is mainly international film production. America has the highest number of cases and the Europe has been shut down again. We were supposed to do 2-3 projects but they have all been put on hold. We are just waiting for the world to get rid of the disease. People are talking about going back to work but everybody is very cautious. Hopefully things may change in the next couple of months and some vaccine comes out.

The safety protocols are good as we are required to keep a safe distance from each other, wear a mask and carry out periodic sanitization of sets and crew. A couple of my friends who are shooting in Germany have said that it had been very difficult to shoot with all these protocols in place, but people are still doing it.

They are following it and it has been successful so far.

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How do you explain the on ground situation in India as we speak now to a potential global producer looking to film in India?

There are different ways of doing things now. We have to do most of the work online as the number of people travelling has reduced drastically.

We are still waiting and watching.

There have been a lot of talks that happened in the last 4-5 months, and now we are scouting and sending pictures of locations and also looking for some scripts.

my fingers crossed that everything moves in the right direction.

What are the new facilities that you have added to your production services especially in pandemic times?

What safety measures are being undertaken by your production?

Earlier, we would do location scouting and the key filming crew from abroad would come to India for a physical visit. But now we are doing local scouting with the help of movie cameras and Go-pro to give a virtual tour of the location. We upload the 3D shots online so that the director and producers can have a look at it.

We conduct more virtual discussions rather than physical interactions.

For example, I was supposed to be in the US but I have not travelled for the last nine months. We are working from home and computers have become our important assets. We spend a lot more time in conducting virtual scouting. We have opted to use just one person for scouting as it is easier to manage that one person with gloves, proper mask and sanitizer. Our crew would never leave without taking proper safety measures.

I want to get back into action and I know that people are dying to get back on the location. But even if we start working on a certain project the shooting will happen only next year. So, people are working on script level or location level. So it’s looking very positive and I hope situation remains under control. I am keeping

I can’t wait to resume work. Like I said I have not been on the set and have not travelled in the last nine months, not making a film is the biggest depression for me. So I am looking forward to get back on the set again.

Are you thrilled to going back to work?

Behind the scenes on filming The Dark Knight Rises

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Plan your post-Covid

shoot in

India

Pravesh Sahni Co-founder of 25-year-old ITOP Film Productions Pvt Ltd has executed production services for Oscar winners like Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi and Lion in India. ITOP did production services in India for Netflix’s action thriller Extraction . In a chat with Pickle, Pravesh Sahni expects 2021 to be great year for filming in India

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Covid has come as an intermission but it is not the end of the film. The show has to go on, and will go on; we need to adjust our wings to sail through 2020 and fly even higher in 2021

Pravesh Sahni

Co-founder, ITOP Film Productions Pvt Ltd

The year 2020 marks the silver jubilee celebration for India Take One Productions.

It is a landmark occasion.

Congratulations from Pickle.

How has been the journey?

Yes indeed, we have accomplished 25 successful years of Foreign Line Service Production in India and we would mark many more milestones.

In our journey of film production we have worked with top studios globally.

We have been extremely proud of the fact that our company handled the production of Oscar nominated films like Slumdog Millionaire, Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pie , Lion, and many more which were well acclaimed and well rewarded. I being the co- founder of this company appreciate the hard work of each member of our team who work 24x7 to streamline and make the impossible possible for us.

This is 100% teamwork and I would like to thank each member who has contributed to help us achieve this.

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India Take One Productions comes with experience and professionalism. It helps its clients plan entire production process and execute it with ‘full perfection’.

Since the company’s inception, it has been working on fulfilling its clients pre-production and production needs which include arranging a skillful crew, finding the best locations, obtaining permissions, constructing magnificent movie sets and overcoming all sorts of governmental restrictions.

With offices in Los Angeles, New Delhi and Bombay, it is a one-stop shop for all production needs before the crucial “Lights, Camera, Action!” is called.

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Has India and its outlook changed vis-a-vis foreign productions in recent times?

In our journey of film production one has seen a complete change in production. It has no doubt improved tremendously from shooting on film and then processing to the world of digital and special effects and the fun of post production.

It’s fantastic that India Take One has accomplished some of the finest executive productions for global productions including four Oscar winning films (Slumdog…, Life of Pi, Lion that we’re shot in India)…

Thank you so much. Things actually changed after Slumdog Millionaire, when the world cinema realised that we in India could deliver the finest production services as our professional technical crew is as competent and efficient and at par with the international crew.

Tell us about the Extraction shooting in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It is now the all-time number one movie in Netflix?

Extraction was one of the first international films, full of stunts and action. The Gujarat government helped us to a great extent and made Netflix USA and our director Sam Hargrave’s dream come true. We are thankful to Netflix US in trusting us

with their first project in India. It is only because we could deliver and make things happen that they trusted us for facilitating the production of their next film called White Tiger which is due for release in December 2020.

Are you able to see visible changes after the formation of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting’s Film Facilitation Office? Is filming in India eased now for facilitation?

Yes, things have really changed a lot.

FFO, housed in NFDC is a big support and backs the Indian producers. We now have a government organization which understands the problems we face, we have solved a many problems but honestly a lot needs to be still done to a goal we want to achieve.

What according to you are the three things that attract global productions to look at India now?

We have amazing locations in India, with professional technical crew to meet up with International Standards. The cost of shooting is far cheaper here than other countries like US, UK and Europe. If we have an Incentive in place we would be even more competitive.

Action thriller Extraction is the most watched original movie on Netflix with 99 million views. Portions of the film was shot in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, facilitated

by ITOP Film Productions

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Will the government’s plans to incentivize filming in the country as well for coproduction treaties be an advantage to India?

We have been waiting for the incentive scheme for very long.

I have been a key member in helping draft this policy with the government and hope this can come out soon as we will need this incentive to get productions rolling smoothly. This is needed to compete with other countries.

All the productions have been hit with COVID, this will help boost the Indian industry 100 per cent.

Do you see positive intent among various State governments in India for film shooting in their respective States?

Production Services by ITOP Film Productions The White Tiger (Consulting Producer) 2020 Percy (consulting producer: India) 2020 Extraction (co-producer) 2020 A Monsoon Date (Short) (consulting producer) 2019 The Wedding Guest (co-producer) 2018 Hotel Mumbai (line producer: India) 2018 Love Sonia (executive producer) 2018 McMafia (TV Series) (co-producer - 8 episodes) 2018 Victoria & Abdul (line producer: India) 2017 Viceroy’s House (co-producer: India) 2017

All States will have to observe strict safety protocols to ensure safe shooting. All States are taking out rules and regulations, we at ITOP would have to follow the guidelines of the foreign studios which are far more strict. The success will lie only if we ensure all the rules and regulations are maintained for the safety of the crew, which will give other producers the comfort to come and shoot in India.

Lion (line producer) 2016

What has been impact of COVID-19?

Million Dollar Arm (associate producer: India) 2014

We were in the phase of handling two projects parallel with each other.

We were doing production of the TV Series The Bear based on the novel Shantaram which we closed on 14 March and Tarus which we shut down on 22 March. Because of the lockdown, India like the entire world has been also affected due to COVID. We were hoping that things get better in India in a few months and we would have been on the floor

by September, but things got worse.

Today we are positive that foreign production houses will resume production in India like pre-COVID times in mid of 2021.

Zero Dark Thirty (associate producer: India) 2012

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Silicon Valley (TV Series) (supervising producer - 3 episodes) 2016 Homeland (TV Series) (supervising producer - 3 episodes) 2015 Sense8 (TV Series) (line producer - 8 episodes) 2015 The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (co-producer) 2015 The Hundred-Foot Journey (associate producer: India) 2014

Life of Pi (associate producer: India) 2012 Save Your Legs! (line producer) 2012 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (associate producer: India) 2011 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (line producer) 2011 Indus (TV Series) (line producer) 2010 Eat Pray Love (associate producer: India) 2010

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Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire was shot in India. Production services facilitated

by ITOP Productions

Now that India is allowing shootings, do you see positive momentum? Are the safety protocols in line with global practices?

We are all hopeful that by March 2021, we will be in a better frame to handle things. Our company has always taken the health and safety of our team and the foreign crew as a priority. We want to ensure that we can create a bubble for our team and provide safety for all. We may lose a job or two to other countries which is beyond our control but we are 100 per cent sure that things will be streamlined and we will do our best to make things happen like before.

Tell us some of the few positives and some challenges for overseas people to shoot…

The number count in India may be high but our mortality rate is much lesser. So sure enough like Bollywood has resumed its production gradually, our production team is working on various ways to ensure safety to keep the crew confident that they are safe in India. We will bounce back like pre-COVID times and handle 2 to 3 big productions starting

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mid-2021. This is our goal and we are positive that we will achieve it.

How do you explain the on ground situation in India as we speak now to a potential global producer looking to film in India?

For International Producers we are advising to start Pre-Production in the summer and shoot in winter.

Hopefully we will have a vaccine by then and a full safety guide line to follow to give all a comfort to all. We are in touch with three production houses with these time lines.

We will bounce back like preCovid times and handle 2 to 3 big productions starting mid-2021.

This is our goal and we are positive that we will achieve it

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What are the safety measures undertaken by your production house?

We have always had an ambulance and doctor on our sets even in preCOVID times. Now we plan to set up a full COVID testing lab on our set in one of the vanity vans, and see that all crew is tested twice a week, maintain three rings of crew on set with colored bands, sanitize the set before use and also during all breaks and see all the crew members maintain proper distancing possible and sanitize at regular intervals. No one will be spared from main cast to crew, drivers, spot boys. We have also planned to keep all crew in one hotel to maintain a bubble.

How thrilled are you to going back to shoot?

We are looking forward to get on the sets again. We all are passionate about filming and implementing our foreign producers’ vision to reality.

For this we are planning a full plan to make our sets COVID free. On sets we

plan to have enough infrastructure created to keep our members safe with tests at regular intervals. We will ensure all safety measures possible in our production. We have been known for our safety standards even before COVID. We would sanitise and disinfect the sets and all the offices on regular intervals.

The list may seem complex in long but along with production we want to ensure the safety of each and every member. Our production house is ready to take the baton and charge on to implement everything very efficiently. Our key production team is already handling production in Indonesia and we would not leave any stone unturned to lift the curtain in India and generate the same kind of job opportunities and revenue for our country.

COVID has come as an intermission but it is not the end of the film.

The show has to go on, and will go on; we need to adjust our wings to sail through 2020 and fly even higher in 2021.

We are thankful to Netflix US in trusting us with their first project Extraction in India. It is only because we could deliver and make things happen that they trusted us for facilitating the production of their next film “The White Tiger” which is due for release in December 2020

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E G A T ADVAN

India

India now offers a high quality, end to end solution to foreign productions. An entire ecosystem awaits foreign productions in India, thanks to proactive measures by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. India’s diversity allows a filmmaker to tell both India focused and global stories from here. A rural South African exterior or urban London office interior can be recreated right here with equal expertise and ease. Alan McAlex of Production Scope shares his experience of filming Mira Nair’s Suitable Boy. He chats with Pickle and wants nothing but to go back to making movies

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India now offers an entire ecosystem for foreign productions.

We’ve always been a cost-effective destination for production and now there’s an abundance of talent and skilled professionals in our industry as well. We also have superb postproduction and VFX capabilities. India now offers a high quality, end to end solution to foreign productions In visualization to match the script, Suitable Boy transports us to fifties of India. What are the behind the scene experiences? It is great to know every single shot of Mira Nair’s TV series was filmed in India…

That’s right; every single shot was filmed in India on location. We didn’t create any period sets in studios. That was Mira’s vision- she wanted the look to be as authentic as possible, depicting post-independence India in the series. As a co-producer, I strive to ensure that the Director’s vision is implemented on screen. For A Suitable Boy, we scouted every nook and corner of the historic cities of Lucknow, Kanpur and Maheshwar.

We also shot in smaller towns and villages in and around these cities such as Kakori, Mahmudabad etc.

It was amazing to experience the rich heritage of India while shooting at these locations. We shot in several interesting places - tanneries in Kanpur, palaces in Lucknow, forts in Maheshwar. I was quite mesmerized by the beauty of these locations.

Every location we shot in had such an interesting history and story attached to it.

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Alan McAlex

Founder/Producer Jar Pictures | Suitable Pictures | Production Scope

With diverse experience in film production, Alan McAlex formed Jar Pictures in 2011 with Ajay G Rai. Together they have been producing commercial and arthouse films. Killa, that opened at the 64th Berlinale in 2015, winning the Crystal Bear; Liar’s Dice, that opened at Sundance and was India’s official submission to the 87th Academy Awards in 2015; and Moothon that opened at TIFF in 2019, are a few titles from their oeuvre.

As a part of Alan’s several individual projects as an Executive Producer, he has worked on Dangal, which was the highest grossing Indian film, as well as the Amazon series Made in Heaven.

In 2019, Alan initiated Production Scope, a company focusing only on production services that started off with A Suitable Boy, a BBC mini-series adapted from author Vikram Seth’s eponymous book, directed by Mira Nair, for which Alan was the co-producer.

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Every single shot of Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy (six-episodes, 349-minute long series) was filmed in India (Lucknow, Kanpur and Maheshwar)

Lucknow also had a rich collection of vintage cars that were an extremely important part of creating the 1950s’ visual experience on screen. We didn’t realize it at first, but these cars were very popular. On days when we shot with the cars, we had huge crowds gather just to see these cars. Our crew also enjoyed posing with these cars when they weren’t filming.

significantly. With the formation of the FFO, we have a one-stop-shop to obtain clearances and support.

We’ve always been a cost-effective destination for production and now there’s an abundance of talent and skilled professionals in our industry as well. We also have superb postproduction and VFX capabilities.

India now offers a high quality, end to end solution to foreign productions.

How has India and its outlook changed vis-a-vis foreign productions in recent times?

Over the last one decade, the diversity of films that you have (co-produced/executive produced) is amazing. Some of the Indian films have travelled globally and won awards.

What fascinates you in an Indian location?

In recent times, when foreign producers look at India, they see much more than a country where they shoot one offs such as a Gandhi or a Slumdog Millionaire, in which the script requires a film to be shot here.

India now offers an entire ecosystem for foreign productions. India’s diversity allows a filmmaker to tell both India focused and global stories from here. We are able to recreate say a rural South African exterior, or urban London office interior right here.

Productions are also more attracted to India because the overall risk of filming here has gone down

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Yes, over the last decade, we were lucky to find the right scripts and work with amazing filmmakers.

Our films went on to garner critical acclaim, Killa that went on to open at the 64th Berlinale in 2015 won the Crystal Bear, Liar’s Dice which opened at Sundance and was India’s official submission to the 87th Academy Awards in 2015 and Moothon that opened at TIFF and MAMI in 2019, would be to name a few from our oeuvre.

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Do you see Advantage India in the aftermath of pandemic for filming? What’s possible and what’s not?

In terms of the number of cases, unfortunately, we’ve been one of the worst affected countries in the world and this is likely due to our sizeable population. Efforts of the government and vigilance of the people have helped keep fatality rate relatively low. Productions in India have slowly restarted with extreme precautions and strict health and safety protocols on sets. Some had to shut down again if a crew member tested positive but overall there’s definitely progress.

Things will slowly but surely get back to pre-pandemic levels. As long as we’re vigilant and keep flattening the curve, filmmakers will be more confident about shooting in India.

We have a cost advantage which definitely gives us an upper hand in these difficult financial times. In the long term, India will certainly be back as one of the top destinations of choice for filmmakers.

Films / Series produced

by Alan McAlex A Suitable Boy (TV Series) (coproducer - 6 episodes) 2020 Children of the Sun (producer) 2019 The Elder One (producer) 2019 Made in Heaven (TV Series) (supervising producer - 9 episodes) 2019 Firecracker (executive producer) 2018 Once Again (producer) 2018 River Song (producer) 2018 Hummingbird (Short) (producer) 2018/I Simran (executive producer) 2017 Gurgaon (producer) 2016 Dangal (executive producer) 2016 Nil Battey Sannata (producer) 2015 Talvar (executive producer) 2015

Productions are also more attracted to India because the overall risk of filming here has gone down significantly.

With the formation of the FFO, we have a one-stopshop to obtain clearances and support

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Hunterrr (executive producer) 2015 Echoes (line producer) 2014/III Njan Steve Lopez (producer) 2014 Killa (producer) 2014 Mr. & Mrs. Singh (Short) (producer) 2013 Liar’s Dice (producer) 2013 Fireflies (executive producer) 2013/II I.D. (executive producer) 2012 Patang (line producer) 2011 Thank You (line producer) 2011/I Autumn (executive producer) 2010 Peepli [Live] (line producer) 2010

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Now that India has opened up shooting (to those who have film visas) and business for overseas businesses do you see positive momentum? Are the safety protocols in line with global practices?

Yes, there’s definitely positive momentum. We’re already planning several projects, for next year and beyond. These are a mix of international and domestic projects.

There are several companies that offer COVID safety protocols that are at par or even exceed global practices. It’s quite amazing to see the market react such quickly to offer these solutions.

Your reflections on how tough it has been during the lockdown times…

The pandemic has been personally, professionally and financially devastating for everyone and there’s no question that the people on the ground have been the hardest hit. It was very unfortunate to see so many productions come to a grinding halt due to which the livelihood of so many people, especially the daily wagers were several affected.

What are the lessons learned during lockdown?

The biggest lesson has definitely been that we’re all in this together. This pandemic has touched everyone’s lives, irrespective of boundaries.

And we need to be cautious together

to fight the spread of the virus to protect everyone around us.

Another lesson we’ve learnt is that we need to be better prepared for downturns. When an industry such as ours is growing, one doesn’t expect such a bad thing to happen and that too so quickly. But, this pandemic has taught us that black swan events can happen, so we need to be better equipped to manage them. Ultimately, tough times teach us to be more resilient and stronger for the future.

Do you see visible changes after the formation of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting’s Film Facilitation Office? Is filming in India eased now for facilitation?

When it comes to international productions helmed by companies here in India, the onus to deliver all expectations smoothly is on us and that includes visas for the foreign crew, shoot permissions, initial project clearance formalities with Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to name a few. FFO has been the singular point for all these crucial parts and speed up the process, right from liaising with the visa office to sanctioning permissions for filming in desired regions of the country. Once we have these clearances we can seek local authorities’ permissions for the respective locations.

Alan McAlex on the sets

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The pandemic has taught us that black swan events can happen, so we need to be better equipped to manage them.

Ultimately, tough times teach us to be more resilient and stronger for the future

The government plans to incentivize filming in India as well for co-production Treaties?

Will this be advantage India?

Co-production treaties are extremely helpful in creating the right incentives for filmmakers to shoot in India. Having foreign films made in India helps promote the local economy and tourism in the country.

It’s a win-win situation.

We already have treaties with 15 countries, but it would be nicer to have more, because nowadays, film making is an exceedingly global endeavor. As an example, Canada has treaties with over 50 countries.

In addition to co-productions, production services is also an area that the government can look at for incentivization. In my experience, sometimes the incentives, especially the State/local ones, are limited to feature films. With the advent of digital platforms, there is an opportunity to expand those incentives to web series as well.

All in all, we’re on the right track and I am confident we’ll get better and it will definitely be advantage India!

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What are the new facilities that you have added to your production especially in pandemic times? What are the best practices followed by Production Scope?

Even before COVID, safety of our cast and crew was of utmost importance to our productions. We followed international safety protocols and standards during the shoot of A Suitable Boy. An ambulance and a doctor were on standby on every shoot day for emergencies. Fire safety is also very important – we had several scenes in which we depicted props being set on fire. So, we had a Fire Brigade on standby at all times.

We also had a dedicated safety officer on set that assessed safety risks prior to shooting at any new location. We were pro-active in addressing any safety concerns. In fact, we were ready to stop shoot if we thought that there was risk to the safety or wellbeing of our crew. The lessons we learnt during A Suitable Boy, we’ve incorporated in our Indian shoots as well. These are now a part of our standard operating procedures of our new exclusive Production Services company - Production Scope.

Specifically for COVID, our productions have added additional safety measures such as masks, shields, UV tunnels, sanitizers for all crew members. We also have a task force that ensures social distancing protocols are followed at all times on set. We monitor, track and record compliance to all safety protocols as well.

How thrilled are you to going back to shoot...

It’s been almost a year since we finished shooting A Suitable Boy. I’m honestly quite eager to get back to shoot. But COVID is still a risk and we have to be cautious. I am hopeful that things are improving, and that we’ll be back to doing what we love most – making movies!

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FILM MAKING CENTRES OF

INDIA I

ndia is probably the world’s most culturally and linguistically diverse nation. Its people speak 22 different languages, besides hundreds of dialects. No wonder then that India is a land of many cinematic traditions. The 1800odd movies that the country annually produces are made in a number of languages, each with its own distinct literature, history, theatre and music.

Indian films are produced in several centres around the country. Each of these filmmaking cities serves as the hub of cinema in one prominent language.

Mumbai, regarded as India’s movie capital, hosts the Hindi film industry that has a pan-Indian footprint. Marathilanguage films are also produced in the city (besides neighbouring Pune) that is inextricably intertwined with the history of Indian cinema.

Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar and Guwahati are the other major Indian cities where films are produced.

While the distribution of these so-called ‘regional’ films is largely limited within the territories for which they are made – they do not have the nationwide reach of Bollywood blockbusters – they add immensely to the depth and range of Indian cinema.

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Film Production Centres of India

MUMBAI M aharashtra The centre-point of Indian film industry, Mumbai, popularly Bollywood, is a land of cinema. From commercial grandeur to arthouse movies, there is no short of cinema in the capital city of Maharashtra

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he bustling western Indian metropolis is the heart of the Indian movie industry, producing nearly 200 films a year in the Hindi language. It also, along with the nearby city of Pune, produces Marathilanguage films, which, in the silent era and beyond, thrived in the hands of pioneering stalwarts like V Shantaram and Bhalji Pendharkar, among others. A large chunk of the Hindi films produced in Mumbai constitute what is usually described as Bollywood, a label used for an old cinematic tradition built on a formulaic and crowd-pleasing mix of melodrama, romance, moral conflict and music. This extravagant form of storytelling is extremely popular in the other filmmaking centres as well.

However, it is by no means the only kind of cinema that emerges from Mumbai.

The city has always had two distinct streams of filmmaking – one aimed at providing glitzy and emotionally satisfying entertainment to the masses; the other designed to appeal to a niche audience with a taste for more realistic movies. There have of course been occasions when these two separate approaches have merged in the same film and resulted in timeless classics such as Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam, Deewar and Lagaan. The A-list Mumbai cinema stars, objects of adulation around the country and 61

by the Indian Diaspora, power the mainstream Bollywood industry.

Mumbai played a key role in the evolution of parallel films in the late 1960s and 1970s,thanks to the efforts of directors like Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani.

Its filmmakers also drove the global spread of the Bollywood narrative idiom in the aftermath of major commercial successes in the past decade and a half.

A breed of younger Mumbai filmmakers, migrants to the city from different parts of the country, have scripted a new kind of popular cinema that blends social awareness, aesthetic clarity and stylistic accessibility.

Several of these films have travelled to international festivals in recent years while finding takers on the domestic distribution circuit as well.

A breed of younger Mumbai filmmakers, migrants to the city from different parts of the country, have scripted a new kind of popular cinema that blends social awareness, aesthetic clarity and stylistic accessibility

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Film Production Centres of India

CHENNAI

tamilnadu Located down south of India, Chennai is the birthplace of Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada film industries. While the last three moved to their respective neighbouring states, Tamil movies continue to be made in this city, thus making it a sought after destination of movie making in the country

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hennai (formerly Madras) is home to the hugely successful and productive Tamil movie industry, which has, over the decades, given Indian cinema a few of its biggest and most abiding stars.

The Tamil movie industry has seen film production since the mid 1910s. It has constantly kept pace with the growth of the rest of Indian cinema. In fact, at several junctures in its history, it even set the pace for others to follow, especially in matters of technology and film production practices.

Tamil cinema has a following not only in the state of Tamil Nadu but also in the other southern states of India, besides among the Tamil expatriate community across the world. Hindi versions of Tamil box office hits as well as bilingual productions mounted in Chennai have been successful around India ever since 1948’s Chandralekha opened the sluicegates for nationally distributed films from this part of India.

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The dominant strain of Tamil movies, like that of Hindi popular cinema, hinges on the crowd-pulling power of its male superstars, notably veterans Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.

A new generation of stars have continued the tradition. But in the past as well as in recent times, the industry has seen a steady output of films from young directors working outside the conventional star system with great success.

For audiences around the country, Mani Ratnam, who also makes films in Hindi, is one of the better known Chennai directors.

The industry has seen a steady output of films from young directors working outside the conventional star system with great success

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Film Production Centres of India

KOLKATA

W estBengal Kolkata has given the world some of the best movies and filmmakers. Right from the black and white era, Bengali films carried the stamp of reality and social awareness, and the flag still flies high

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a fine balance between artistic merit and commercial potential.

engali-language cinema, known the world over for the celebrated masterpieces of Satyajit Ray, is produced in Kolkata from studios located largely in Tollygunge in the city’s southern suburbs.

Many of the pioneers of early Indian cinema worked in this city in the silent era. In fact, Hiralal Sen is known to have made films here well before India’s officially recognized first full-fledged fiction film, D.G. Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra, was screened in Mumbai. Commercial Bengali cinema has thrived right since the silent era, barring a few troughs in the 1980s and 1990s caused by the death of its most luminous superstar Uttam Kumar and the retirement of his on-screen partner Suchitra Sen.But it is for the critically acclaimed works of three masters – Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen – that Kolkata enjoys global fame.

Directors such as Tapan Sinha and Tarun Majumdar built their careers around films that struck

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More than their counterparts in any of the other film production centres of India, screenwriters and directors in Kolkata, especially those that work in the non-mainstream sphere, continue to draw inspiration primarily from literature. It is a tradition that dates back to the silent era, a period during which Bengali cinema, unlike other cinemas that were beginning to take roots in that period, produced social satires and dramas adapted from literary works rather than mythological epics.

Screenwriters and directors in Kolkata, especially those that work in the nonmainstream sphere, continue to draw inspiration primarily from literature

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Film Production Centres of India

HYDERABAD T

elangana

Not just the land, but its films too are known for their spicy nature.

It will be no exaggeration if we call Hyderabad the capital of commercial cinema. For, most of India’s colourful and costly movies are made here

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yderabad is the hub of Telugu cinema, which is one of the most prolific and commercially consistent of all the cinemas of India. Between Telengana and Andhra Pradesh, the two separate states that the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh has recently been split into, there are 2800 movie halls, the highest in any single region of India. On several occasions in the last decade, Telugu films accounted for more releases in a year than cinema in any other Indian language, including Hindi.

Many big-budget Hindi and Tamil films are official remakes of Telugu hits, a sure measure of the mass appeal of movies made in Hyderabad. In terms of artistic quality and global recognition, Telugu cinema may lag behind films made in Malayalam and Tamil, but it continues to be the most robust of the southern industries.Hyderabad has some of India’s best film production studios. They have been set up by established names of the Telugu

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movie industry – men such as B. N. Reddy, L.V. Prasad, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and D. Rama Naidu. Until about three decades ago, large sections of the Telugu movie industry operated out of Chennai. But today, Hyderabad is where all the Telugu cinema action is focused. Filmmmaker S.S. Rajamouli and male stars such as Prabhas enjoy nationwide popularity thanks mainly to the super success of the period action drama Baahubali.

Filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli and male stars such as Prabhas enjoy nationwide popularity thanks mainly to the super success of the period action drama Baahubali

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Film Production Centres of India

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

K

erala

Known for producing award winning films, Thiruvananthapuram, the hub of Malayalam cinema, is lately carving a niche for itself for new-age content-rich and commercial movies. From Adoor Gopalakrishnan to Mohanlal-Mammootty to Vineeth-Nivin Pauly, the land has a rich legacy of cinema

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hiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivandrum) is the capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala. The city, along with Kochi, serves as the nerve-centre of cinema in Malayalam. Although films were made in the state in the silent era, cinema in Kerala was late to flourish and at the time of India’s Independence in 1947, only a handful of Malayalam filmshad been produced. But when the movie industry in this part of the country took off in the 1950s, it not only quickly caught up with the rest of Indian cinema, it also established itself at the forefront of the Indian parallel cinema movement. Malayalam movie superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty are known across the country and directors such as Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Shaji N. Karun and the late G. Aravindan are feted at film festivals around the world.

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When Malayalam cinema began to assume the proportions of a full-fledged industry post-Independence, it was headquartered in Chennai. It was only by the late 1980s that it moved completely to its current location in Thiruvananthapuram. Like the other cinemas of India, Malayalam movies are divided between a popular genre and a socially relevant strand. Cinema from Kerala gained national and international prominence, riding on the films made by Adoor and Aravindan in the 1970s and 1980s. The tradition of making realistic and meaningful cinema continues to this day.

The tradition of making realistic and meaningful cinema continues to this day

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Film Production Centres of India

BENGALURU K

arnataka

The capital city of Karnataka is the home of Kannada film industry, popularly Sandalwood. It has produced some great talents, from actors to directors to technicians

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n Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley, films are made in the Kannada language. The first Kannada film was made in the talkie era, and the industry’s growth was steady until the late 1940s. The 1950s marked the advent of Dr.Rajkumar, whose popularity as a lead actor in mythological epics helped Kannada cinema achieve new heights. The 1970s and 1980s are generally regarded as the golden era of Kannada cinema, which was enriched by the work of directors like B.V.Karanth, Girish Karnad and Girish Kasaravalli. In 1970, Samskara, based on a novel by celebrated writer U.R. Ananthamurthy and directed by Pattabhi Rama Reddy, inaugurated the parallel cinema

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movement in Karnataka. While alternative cinema has continued to thrive in the state, commercial cinema, too, has sustained itself despite not quite enjoying the financial clout of Tamil and Telugu films.

While alternative cinema has continued to thrive in the state, commercial cinema, too, has sustained itself despite not quite enjoying the financial clout of Tamil and Telugu films

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Film Production Centres of India

LUCKNOW U ttar P radesh

PATNA Bihar

Bhojpuri cinema, which also caters to third and fourth generation migrants in Surinam, Mauritius, Trinidad & Tobago, Fiji and Guyana, has its own star system and a committed audience base

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he central Indian city of Lucknow is one of the bases of Bhojpuri cinema, which is produced largely in and for eastern Uttar Pradesh, western Bihar and Jharkhand.

The first-ever Bhojpuri-language film, Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadaibo (Mother Ganges, I Will Offer You a Yellow Sari), was released only in the early 1960s.

But the industry grew steadily as the demand from people who speak the dialect in India and elsewhere increased. Bhojpuri cinema, which also caters to third and fourth generation migrants in Surinam, Mauritius, Trinidad & Tobago, Fiji and Guyana, has its own star system and a committed audience base, but it has failed to build on the opportunities to break into the national mainstream. The last couple of decades have seen a major spurt

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in the production of Bhojpuri films, but these have all been runof-the-mill potboilers designed for an audience that seems to be undemanding and easy to please.

In parts of India where Bhojpuri speakers live and work, these films continue to be exceedingly popular. But since most of these films are made on tight budgets and follow rushed production timelines, they tend to be rather low on technical finesse.

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India is the fastest growing film shooting location for domestic and global productions

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Film Production Centres of India

BHUBANESWAR O

disha

The shift of Odia cinema from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar heralded a new era. Since then, Bhubaneswar continues to be the focus point of Odia films

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n the eastern Indian state of Odisha, films are made in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

Parbati Ghosh. The duo produced several National Award-winning films, including the epochal Kaa.

The first Odia-language film was made in 1936, but until the 1950s only a handful of more titles were produced. Back then, the Odia film industry did not have production facilities of its own.

Films in the language had to depend on Kolkata, which made movie-making in Odisha difficult and unviable.

Other production houses took roots in the 1970s, including Diamond Valley Productions, set up by entrepreneur Sarat Pujari.

In the late 1950s, the first cooperative venture to produce, distribute and exhibit Odia films was set up by Krushna Chandra Tripathy.

The organization was named Utkal Chalachitra Pratisthan, and it produced several films in the 1960s that gave Odia cinema a distinct identity.

In 1961, another production house, Pancha Sakha, was set up by amateur artiste Dhira Biswal, who produced four hugely popular films. His first production, Nua Bou, created a sensation all across the state of Odisha.

Odia cinema developed its own idiom in subsequent years thanks to the efforts of the husband-wife team of Gour Prasad Ghosh and

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In 1975, the state government stepped in to promote cinema by setting up the Odisha Film Development Corporation. Five years later, the Kalinga Studio came up with the support of Chennai’s Prasad Studios.

Odisha currently produces an average of 20 films a year.

Odia cinema developed its own idiom in subsequent years thanks to the efforts of the husbandwife team of Gour Prasad Ghosh and Parbati Ghosh. The duo produced several National Award-winning films, including the epochal Kaa

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Film Production Centres of India

ASSAM

cinemas from northeast Despite heavy influence from Bollywood, Assamese cinema, being made from Guwahati, has carved a niche for itself and its presence in National Awards every year stands testimony to the claim

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bright. In recent years, Rima Das, working largely out of her native village near Guwahati, has made massive waves globally with her films Village Rockstars and Bulbul Can Sing.

ssamese films, produced in north-eastern city of Guwahati, are a constant presence in India’s National Awards. Yet the film industry in Assam remains commercially unviable.

Filmmakers from the rest of Northeast India, notably Manipur and Meghalaya, are also increasingly making their presence felt on the national and international stage. Manipur’s Aribam Syam Sarma has for decades been a leading light of cinema from this region of India and his films have been lauded at festivals, including Cannes.

Constantly under the shadow of Bollywood films, the state has not been able to develop a distribution and exhibition system that can prop up locally made films and make them viable.

At the turn of the millennium, a ray of hope had emerged in the form of a spurt in Bollywoodinspired Assamese melodrama that found takers among the mass audience in the state. But the trend was short-lived.

Despite the effort of the pioneers and the work of their successors in the 1950s and 1960s (Bhupen Hazarika, Nip Barua, Pudum Barua), Assamese cinema has been dragged down by the paucity of exhibition outlets.

Despite all the odds, the names of the late author and filmmaker Bhabendra Nath Saikia and the still-active Jahnu Barua shine

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Rima Das, working largely out of her native village near Guwahati, has made massive waves globally with her films Village Rockstars and Bulbul Can Sing

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