Government will encourage film co-production deals: Venkaiah Naidu

PANAJI: The government will encourage film co-production deals as movies are an important tool to promote Indian culture and heritage, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu today said.

"Films are very important because they are the cheapest entertainment here. People want some relief; some sort of happiness. Secondly, films can portray our culture, our heritage.

"Films also can take the message of our country to other places. We have entered into a co-production agreement with different countries as we want to collaborate with other countries as well. The government will definitely encourage this," the minister said on the first day of NFDC Film Bazaar.

Naidu enjoyed a tour of the Bazaar and explored its various segments.

Accompanying him on the tour were NFDC Director Raja Chhinal and NDFC Director (Finance) N J Shaikh.

The Virtual Reality lounge in particular was of special interest to the minister as he spent some time trying out the VR gear, after which he went on to launch the National Film Heritage Mission calendar and website.

"It's film supermarket. One can also experience seeing in 3D, here. Everything required for filmmaking is available here; it is a great idea," he added.

The five-day event, which runs parallel to International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will have more than 20 Knowledge series sessions in which veteran filmmakers and producers will speak on the various aspects of the cinema.

Indian celebrities who will be attending NFDC Film Bazaar 2016 include the likes of Imtiaz Ali, Vishal Bharadwaj, Shoojit Sircar, Anand L Rai, Rohan Sippy, Ramesh Sippy, Prakash Jha, Anubhav Sinha, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Sudhir Mishra.