“It is time Kannada film makers, producers and actors start embracing ‘bridge cinema’,” said Rajendra Singh Babu, film producer and BIFFes festival director. Bridge cinema, he went on to explain, is a film that is neither fully commercial nor falls in the parallel cinema segment. “It deals with socially and culturally relevant topics and, at the same time, has some entertainment elements.”
Seconding this, award-winning Kannada director N.R. Nanjunde Gowda said, “Film makers should look for content that is not too far removed from reality. Our audiences are mature and films should be such that people watching it believe them and can relate to them.”
Citing the example of Marathi film industry, which has thrived on such films, Mr. Babu felt that the storyline is the most important aspect of a film. “The Marathi film industry seems to have understood this. Karnataka too has lot of local stories and rich literature, which can be made into meaningful films,” he added.
According to Sumitra Bhave and national-award winning film maker Sunil Sukthankar, the reason Marathi film industry is successful is because it has not succumbed to the threat from Bollywood. The challenge to make people watch Marathi films is what drives film makers to find good stories, they said.
‘₹25 lakh for eight bridge films’
In an attempt to promote bridge films, the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy is offering ₹25 lakh for eight films a year.
“The films should be based on a novel and throw light on Kannada culture. We have created a repository of 100 novels, which can be selected by film makers. A panel will select the film makers based on their proposal and budget estimate. The academy will oversee the films throughout their making,” Mr. Babu added.
Mukta Arts to open more screens in south India
Mukta Arts, which produces, distributes and exhibits films, is looking to tap into south India, and the focus is on single screens.
“We have aggressive expansion plans for south India, which has a strong film market. The single screens in the south have much better occupancy and this is what we are planning to develop,” said Rahul Puri, MD, Mukta A2 Cinemas.
