Filmmaker to govt: Open a film centre

PATNA: Noted filmmaker and Padma Vibhushan Adoor Gopalakrishnan on Wednesday said Patna deserves a film centre.
“A film centre should be opened in the state capital to develop the kind of audience who can appreciate films. Patna has a rich heritage. People should be encouraged to form film societies as they create a sensible audience for serious films,” said Gopalakrishnan, who was attending the Bodhisattva International Film Festival, which will conclude on Thursday.
“Films are made on current issues and also bring about a social change.Young filmmakers should not be confined to Bollywood, which is completely commercialized,” said the director whose debut Malayalam film Swayamvaram (1972) had won the national awards for best film, best director, best cinematography and best actress.
Gopalakrishnan also said Marathi films are of very small budget yet they are very successful, unlike other regional language films. “A good art form should always question the prevailing situation in society. The technical advancements and digitization has led to the democratization of filmmaking, which is good for young filmmakers,” Gopalakrishnan said while participating in a panel discussion.
The ongoing film festival also witnessed some sparkling talents from other fields. For them, filmmaking is a passion. One of them was an IT engineer while another was a student of Ayurveda.
“Besides choosing a different career, one should follow his/her passion even if it comes late in one’s life,” said Amartya Bhattacharyya, who works in an IT company in Odisha.
His film ‘Capital I’ was screened on Monday. It is in Odia language and based on lesbian relationship. “I made the film with a DSLR camera with just five characters. I feel if you have good story to tell, don’t shy away from making a movie. I manage my work as a software engineer in an IT firm in Bhubaneshwar. A good story and a team of committed actors and technicians are needed to make a movie. Everything else will fall in place,” said Bhattacharyya, adding that his was considerate enough to grant him leave to attend the film festival.
Vishal Jejurkar, whose short film ‘Scratch’ in Marathi was screened in the film festival on the life of a child who tries to dig out a coin from road, said, “I am a fourth year student of Sumatibhai Shah Ayurved Mahavidyalaya in Pune. However, I plan to make movies after completing my studies. I have been making films since Class XII. Filmmaking is my passion. I learnt it through research and meeting other filmmakers at film festivals. I will give my 100% to filmmaking once I complete my course next year.”