Film-makers question real worth of Indian Panorama

mumbai: "it's a huge honour to be included in the indian panorama," exults ashutosh gowariker, director of lagaan. "now, i'm brushing shoulders with the greats of indian cinema today." lagaan is one of 30 films chosen for this year's indian panorama, which will showcase the best of indian cinema at the international film festival of india (iffi) to be held in bangalore in october.the panorama, selected by a jury headed by shaji karun, spans a wide spectrum, including govind nihalani's deham, rituparno ghosh's bariwali, b. lenin's ooruku nooruper, jayaraj's shantham, buddhadeb dasgupta's uttara, goutam ghose's dekha, mahesh manjrekar's astitva, amol palekar's dhyass parva and gul bahar singh's the goal. primarily screened for foreign delegates, such as film festival directors and film critics, the panorama is intended to kick-start the international life cycle of its films. ironically, some of the panorama films, including uttara and bawandar, have each already been to more than 20 film festivals worldwide. says jagmohan mundhra, director of bawandar, "it is a validation of my work as a serious film-maker. but all its festival participation so far has been because of my own initiative." naturally, it casts a shadow on the worth, in real terms, of the panorama. the delay in finalising the panorama is, in part, because the iffi was postponed from january to october. the panorama films which have already garnered international awards include uttara (best director prize in venice last year), bariwali (netpac award in berlin in 2000) and ashutosh gowariker's lagaan (audience award in locarno). moreover, govind nihalani's deham has just been invited to the london film festival in november. with increasing competition and globalisation, as film-makers themselves take the initiative to promote their films worldwide, the industry is divided on the true worth of the panorama. says govind nihalani, "the panorama continues to be an important platform for new films, especially by younger film-makers. however, i cannot say that the panorama has had a particular impact on my career. but in the face of the tremendous pressure exerted by mainstream cinema, the panorama has encouraged me to pursue a certain kind of cinema and reach audiences who appreciate it." but shyam benegal, whose every film has been in the panorama, except hari bhari, thinks otherwise. he says, "the panorama means recognition, rather than promotion. certainly, our films are invited to festivals abroad because of the panorama. but its commercial benefits over the years are still to be proved. i don't know anyone who has come to our panorama and bought a film of any significance." meanwhile, when sushma swaraj, minister for information and broadcasting, consciously includes mainstream indian cinema in its overseas promotions, will it be at the cost of the non-mainstream films? says nihalani, "it is non-mainstream films that have brought indian cinema international recognition. when we are squeezed into the same market system as mainstream cinema, non-mainstream cinema is bound to suffer. today, those making good cinema are made to feel embarrassed because the mainstreamwallas make fun of them.'' as benegal observes, "the mainstream films have rarely crossed over to a mainstream audience overseas, but lagaan has managed that. even zubeidaa, which has been distributed by yashraj films, has crossed over to some extent, from the south asian audience to some mainstream theatres and the arthouse theatrical circuit.'' of the five nfdc films in the panorama, a majority is by debut or younger film-makers. says p.k. nair, former director of the national film archives, "the panorama must reserve, say, one-third of its films for debut and younger film-makers. they may not stand a chance when competing with stalwarts, yet they may be great talents who would flounder without panorama support. besides, many festival directors prefer to pick fresher talent. for instance, santosh sivan's asoka is going to premiere in venice.'' not that the panorama alone is a ticket to success. as p.k. nair points out, "susant misra's indradhanura chhai, which never made it to the panorama, was at the cannes and other film festivals.'' no wonder many film-makers feel that while it is best to push one's film oneself, the panorama is a little like a message in a bottle. you never know whether it will reach its intended destination.