No takers for crowd-funding in Odisha

How open is Ollywood to the concept of crowd-funding? As an industry, hardcore, commercial cinema works in Ollywood. In that context, the directors here are not optimistic about opting for this kind of financing for their movies.
Says director Raju Mishra, ���������This is an extremely good concept and I���������m all for it. But, unfortunately this is not possible in Odisha.The movie-watching crowd wants to see out and out commercial, big-budget cinema. Crowd-funding can make a small-budget movie, but that���������ll not be commercially successful.���������
Adding further, Mishra says, ���������Shyam Benegal���������s ���������Manthan��������� (1976) was the first film in the world to be produced not by a single production house, but the farmers of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Federation who contributed `2 each for the production of the movie. This film won three National Awards and was the official selection from India to the Academy Award that year. So, if there���������s a concept with enough potential to create a zeal among the audience to come forward and finance it, it is possible. But, in Odisha there is a dearth of patronizers.���������
While the tastes of audience in Odisha seems to be the most important factor, director Prashant Nanda points at another disadvantage. ���������Small-budget movies like ���������I Am��������� are made for the multiplex audience. But Odisha has no multiplexes! The target audience of these kinds of movies don���������t have the right kind of ambience so that they can go and watch a different movie. I don���������t think crowd-funding will have any takers in this market. But changes are happening. So, I���������m hopeful for the future.���������