The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Provide grant for women-oriented films’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 05, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Provide grant for women-oriented films’

Special Correspondent

Uniform subsidy for all Kannada films sought
Plea to provide residential sites for poor artistes

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Seeking relief: Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president Jaimala and vice-president Rockline Venkatesh at a press conference in Bangalore on Friday.

Bangalore: The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) has urged the State Government to extend a special grant of Rs. 25 lakh for all Kannada cinemas that uphold dignity and decorum of women produced during the 75th year of Kannada cinema.

The first woman president of the 63-year-old KFCC and actor and producer Jaimala told presspersons here on Friday that extending a special grant would encourage those concerned to highlight the problems being faced by women.

The Government was now giving a subsidy Rs. 10 lakh to 20 selected films. Considering challenges before Kannada films, the Government should extend a uniform subsidy of Rs. 10 lakh for all Kannada films that are free from “obscenity and intolerable bloodshed,” she said.

With the abolition of the system of making a one- time payment of Rs.10, 000 to the Department of Information and Publicity for each film, producers had been put to hardship in obtaining the permission for shooting from various governmental agencies across the State. The Government should re-introduce the old system of obtaining the licence for shooting by establishing the single-window system promised decades ago, Ms. Jaimala said.

On the issue of enforcing Goonda Act for preventing piracy, she wondered why the Government was procrastinating over implementation of the Act.

She urged the Government to look into the long-pending demands such as liberalisation of the Cinematography Act, formation of film academy and residential sites for those artistes living in penury at the proposed film city in Hesaraghatta.

On bringing remake films under the purview of entertainment tax concession, treasurer Sa. Ra. Govindu and secretary N. Kumar demanded that remake films also be given 100 per cent tax concession.

But they failed to substantiate on what grounds remake films deserved full tax concession as remake films were just the Kannada version of successful films produced in other languages and how they could promote the cause of Kannada cinema.

However, Ms. Jaimala intervened to state that such films should also be given tax concession for some time considering the plight of Kannada cinema industry.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka