Back in Action

“We are progressing step by step. We are still in the process of restructuring the body. Since these three films were ready,we sent them to the festival and these were selected,” says Nina Lath Gupta,managing director,NFDC. A cash-strapped NFDC experienced a slump in production in 2004-8. Last year,it was back to funding interesting projects with Via Darjeeling and Bioscope. This year more films are being made under its banner. Apart from the three films showcased at IFFI,As the River Flows by Bidyut Katoky is nearing completion,while Pairotale,Manjunath,End of The Road and Akkaria are under production.

“Earlier,the NFDC used to make an average of eight films a year. We will take some time to return to that stage,” says Gupta. The agency has now adopted the concept of cooperative filmmaking,but its policy of encouraging good cinema,especially regional films,has not changed. Haat,for instance,is set in Rajasthan; while The Man Beyond the Bridge,which was shown at the Toronto film festival,is in Konkani.

Says Kapoor: “Since Haat is my first film,I was expecting a lot of interference from the NFDC. But there was hardly any.” Shetgaonkar agrees,“Though one needs to get used to the government style of functioning,the NFDC doesn’t come in the way of creative freedom.” The NFDC is now taking care of his film’s distribution as well. Kakoty recalls how a few days after he submitted the script,Jahnu Barua,who is on NFDC’s board,called the debutant director to discuss it. Other than that,the NFDC restricted its role strictly to that of a producer. “We encourage direct submission. But a script is evaluated thoroughly,before it gets a go-ahead,” says Gupta.