New cinema policy to revive ailing Sandalwood

Concessions for movie theatres, streamlining GST for film producers and a dedicated film promotion board are some of the measures Karnataka will take up to revive the ailing Kannada film industry, Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said on Thursday.

Narayan was speaking to reporters after holding talks with Sandalwood star Shiva Rajkumar who made a desperate plea to rescue the Kannada film industry that has been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Our current cinema policy has expired. A new, comprehensive policy will be formulated,” Narayan said, pointing out that even Shiva brought up the need for a new policy during their discussion.

“We’re looking at a Kannada Cinema Promotion Board to offer incentives and concessions, set up affordable janata theatres to revive the Kannada film industry. These reforms will be incorporated into the new policy,” Narayan said.

Shiva, who has been tasked to be the voice of Sandalwood, told Narayan that the Kannada film industry was in dire straits due to the pandemic, with job and wage losses. “Just when the industry was progressing, the Covid pandemic put a full stop,” he said. “We need to fix the basics first because survival is the first priority now.” Shiva also brought up the issue of delays in subsidies for filmmakers and the 40-member limit on shooting crews.

“Shiva told me that the existing subsidy process is cumbersome and it has to be time-bound. Also, the standard operating procedure (SOP) states that a film crew should have just 40 members. This is straitjacketing the industry and hurting jobs. The demand is to ease the restriction like how factories have been allowed to resume operations,” Narayan said.

According to Shiva, the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime are not adversely impacting the Kannada film industry. “There are earnings, too. They’re like a bonus for the producer. But Kannada is competitive enough on its own. What we’re saying is that the problems we’ve faced over the last five months should be resolved. We can’t let theatres go. So, how do we get viewers to feel safe enough to come to watch a movie? That’s where we’d like the government to help,” the actor said.

Narayan said he would arrange a meeting of the film industry representatives with Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa next week. “The CM has interest and concern for the film industry,” Narayan said. “Film industry workers are neither organized nor unorganized. So, we will have to talk to the Labour department to fix this. The government will do whatever it takes to support the industry.”