Film-makers rue JFDCL and govt’s step-motherly treatment

Ranchi: Film-makers are aggrieved with the state government &

Jharkhand

Film Development Corporation Limited’s (

JFDCL

)’s failure to support regional movies. National award winning film-maker and ‘Thunder Spring’ movie’s director Sriram Dalton said, “The Hemant Soren government halted the government subsidy to us (JFDCL) since it came to power in Dec 2019. The Information and Public Relations Department (IPRD) and the JFDCL have always been bureaucratic. Why is the JFDCL not autonomous? You aren’t giving us funds. Give us the freedom to pursue our art.”Dalton, who left Bollywood to tell the story of his people, said, “Thunder Spring is a commentary on one of the largest civil movements of India and

Asia

. It narrates the struggle for ‘jal’, ‘jangal’, and ‘zameen’.” Dhanbad-based film-maker Raj Kumar Das’ upcoming movie, ‘The Future is Dark’, chronicles the daily lives of coal pickers and their struggles. Talking to TOI, Das said, “Jharkhand’s film industry is in a precarious state. Film-makers and the film industry are reeling under the lack of subsidy. Many governments grant incentives to the film creators. But, Jharkhand is not one of them.” He faced difficulties for sponsorship and financial support.New-age film-maker NPK Purushottam shared the struggles of releasing his first feature film, ‘Dehleez’, in theatres. Despite being the first regional film to be released at box office and on the bookmyshow app, distributors and cinema halls refused to screen the movie or give it a prime-time show. “The JFDCL has halted subsidies to regional movies and prioritises Bollywood, Bengali, and Bhojpuri movies.”After Plaza Cinema refused to screen the film, he wrote to the chief minister and finance minister

Rameshwar Oraon

, but to no avail. Recalling Oraon’s response he says, “He told me that nobody watches Nagpuri cinema and I cannot do anything for you. Politicians appeal to the Nagpuri-speaking population for votes in our language but now refrain from taking our language and cinema to the mainstream.”IPRD director Rajiv Lochan Bakshi told TOI, “The subsidy is not under process, and not halted”