Kerala   

Tinsel world greets 2007 with hope

Filmmaker K.G. George wants Malayalam film industry to be more `intelligent' in 2007. Anti-piracy drive tops the wish list of Milan Jaleel, producer and president of the Kerala Film Producers' Association and Saju Johney, proprietor of Kavitha theatre, hopes that the Government would reduce the entertainment tax structure to save the ailing industry.

Adman Saboo Coloniaa says: "This year, I would like to see more and more new faces on the silver screen."

Multiplexes

Calling for massive changes in the exhibition sector, Mr. George says that Kerala needs multiplexes in major towns. "I hope that major business houses would invest in multiplexes here in 2007," he says.

Piracy continues to be a big headache for Malayalam film industry. The first item on Mr. Jaleel's wish list was a request for including video piracy as a crime under the Goonda Act. "Plug all the loopholes before finalising the provisions under the new law. We request the Government to initiate stringent measures to curb the increasing threat of video piracy. Our second wish is to see that the Government accepts a request for giving industry status to filmmaking in Kerala.

Industry status

"The Union Government had agreed to provide an industry status to the sector. It was now left to the States to initiate further steps in this regard. Despite providing jobs to thousands, we are yet to receive the privileges enjoyed by those running an industry," he says.

As a representative of the Kerala Film Exhibitors' Federation, Mr. Johney says: "We request the Government to reduce the entertainment tax. Such a move would encourage exhibitors to come up with new projects. It would also help many who had closed down operations after facing huge loss," he says.

While they hope for major economic changes in the coming days, Mr. Saboo would like to see new films with newcomers playing lead roles.

G. Krishnakumar

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