Exclusive on #FilmPolicy: Will hold conclave with all stakeholders in September, says govt

In the face of criticism for the seemingly arbitrary manner in which the government set up a committee to draft a film policy for the state, Culture Minister Saji Cherian’s department has said a conclave, with the various industry stakeholders, will be organised in September in Ernakulam for the same. The department informed Kochi Times that the committee, headed by Shaji N Karun, was set up to bring in various industry bodies in a conclave to give inputs on developing a comprehensive policy, which will be placed before the Assembly for approval. But film bodies say they were not aware of the conclave when the panel was announced last week.

When last week, the government had announced the panel, film bodies protested about not being in the know and also about the “qualifications” of some of its members. Added to which, some of the appointed members, who included actor and Kollam MLA M Mukesh, actors Manju Warrier, Padmapriya and Nikhila Vimal, filmmakers Rajeev Ravi and B Unnikrishnan, producer Santhosh Kuruvilla and secretary of Kerala State Chalachithra Academy secretary C Ajoy, were not aware of the setting up of such a committee or that they were members of it. On Sunday, the Women in Cinema Collective issued a statement saying, “The role and status of this committee remain unclear, leaving us uncertain about its potential impact.”

The government said the state film policy will be drawn up on the basis of the Hema Commission report and also, one by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and the WCC has pointed out that with the former report “gathering dust without meaningful implementation”, the government approach “seems to indicate a troubling disregard” for concerns. Since the issue came into the limelight, Manju Warrier and filmmaker Rajeev Ravi, have opted out citing work reasons.

The Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce has also been vocal about not being informed about the setting up of the committee. “How can the government develop a film policy without keeping trade bodies in the loop?” asks producer Suresh Kumar, president of the Kerala Film Chamber. “We have sent a letter of protest to the government. You cannot just rope in a couple of artistes and technicians, to form a committee for a film policy. You need people with filmmaking experience to discuss the investments, distribution, exhibition and so on. Trade bodies need to know what are the plans that are being put in place for the industry.”

'Rope in experienced filmmakers who know all aspects of filmmaking'
"If the government is serious about creating a film policy, they should approach and discuss this with trade bodies. No one was aware of the setting up of this panel, which consists of just a few glamorous stars, who are good artistes, but not aware of the ground realities and depths of filmmaking. There are plenty of people with over four decades of industry experience. In a discussion, we are the people who are in the know about what is the annual collection in the industry, how many films are released in a week and so on," says Suresh Kumar.

The government response

Speaking to Kochi Times, Shaji Karun said the government committee was set up to do the legwork to organise the conclave. “It is at the conclave that the ideas will be discussed and translated into a policy. The committee members need to meet all stakeholders and draw up a draft of what to discuss and create the structure for the conclave,” says the filmmaker, adding that the draft is not the film policy. He says discussions will have to address concerns and potential development of labour welfare, taxes, film festivals and so on. “Already, 17 states have a film policy in place. This is what will give us an industry status, enable us to facilitate shoots from other industries and even provide eligibility as ‘shoot friendly state’ at the National Awards. We need this to create accountability and transparency in the industry,” he said.