Shillong, March 04: The Government of Meghalaya and Government of India, through their respective Department of Information and Public Relations and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, have ambitious aims to see the growth of the film industry in the state, as well as the North East as a whole.
At a special seminar as part of the Indian Panorama Film Festival, it was announced that the I&B Ministry, along with the state government, plans to have an annual film festival in the city. Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, who inaugurated the seminar, also suggested sponsoring film students to intern with director Veena Bakshi and producer Ronnie Lahiri, who both made an offer to provide experience of the wider world of cinema to people from Meghalaya.
“This is the first edition of the Indian Panorama Film Festival in Shillong and it is a humble beginning which will go a long way to set the momentum for us to take advantage of the ever-growing film and entertainment industry,” Dr Sangma said in his address.
The Chief Minister also talked about how film could act as a means for further national integration.
“We need to build our brand, which will allow us to address the disconnect that is sometimes present between the North East and the rest of the country. That will go a long way to strengthening the integration of the nation,” Dr Sangma said.
“As policymakers, the Government of Meghalaya will come up with an appropriate and exclusive policy to further the growth of the industry and enable talented youth to realise their dream. This is our commitment to the people. We must dream bigger and make this development bigger and we will do it jointly with the Government of India.”
Citing Meghalaya’s natural beauty as one of its many qualities, the Chief Minister said that it is important that the state not copy any other.
“The state must have its own exclusivity and leverage that exclusivity through branding. We shouldn’t try to replicate other places, like Goa. We have abundant talents and we will have policy to support the youth,” he said.
Dr Sangma’s views were echoed by the other speakers at the seminar.
Raghvendra Singh, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of I&B, said that with the Government of India simplifying the process for acquiring permissions to shoot films, the time is ripe for states to pitch to filmmakers.
He also added that the Meghalaya government was very cooperative with the Centre, which made the decision to “scale up our participation in a very big way” easier. He also suggested that Shillong could become a regional hub for film festivals.
“We very willingly and gladly agreed to further festivals and we will begin work on it right after this event ends,” Singh said.
Other speakers, including directors K Hariharan, Rakesh Tekwani, Veena Bakshi and producer Ronnie Lahiri emphasised the need to tell stories from Meghalaya and not ape Bollywood or Goa, etc. Lahiri, who grew up in Shillong, also said that he is developing a script set in the city.
Shillong has already been treated to several big Bollywood names as part of the Indian Panorama Film Festival, but two more are set to grace the Pine City.
The twice National Film Award winner Kirron Kher will be arriving in Shillong on March 5, 2014 and will be delivering a lecture at the State Convention Centre at 3.30pm, while fellow actress Ameesha Patel will be here for the final day of the festival on March 6, 2014 to attend the closing function of the Film Festival at U Soso Tham Auditorium, Shillong at 4.30pm where Chief Minister, Dr Mukul Sangma will be the Chief Guest.
Kher was a judge on India’s Got Talent, a television show that has brought many acts from Meghalaya to national attention and she will be a welcome addition to the already impressive line-up of stars of Indian cinema.
The renowned actor won her National Film Awards for her performances in Sardari Begum and Bariwali. She has also received rave reviews for her acting in Main Hoon Na and Mangal Pandey.
Ameesha Patel is a multi-talented star of the Indian movie scene and made her debut in 2000. Her performance in the 2001 film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha earned her a Filmfare award.
She can also be seen in films like Ankahee and Race 2 and has also found time to start her own production company, Ameesha Patel Productions.(SP News)
