Kamal appeals to film industry to embrace digital technology

"I think we were sleeping on millions. It is high time (we moved on to digital technology)", Kamal said, quoting the recent statements of James Murdoch, the Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation and the son of media moghul Rupert Murdoch.

Murdoch had on a recent visit to India called the country's media industry a "sleeping tiger". Kamal predicted that the country's entertainment industry was set to grow from its present size of USD 14-15 million to USD 120 million.

Explaining his pitch for digital technology, Kamal asked the presspersons if there was a photographer among the gathered lensmen who still used film roll than using a digital chip. "I too used the same SLR (Single Lens Reflector) camera but now I have moved to digital media. Similarly, the film industry should also wake up (to the digital revolution)", he said.

"I think it is high time we moved forward".
Kamal recalled how the tax demands on film stars had become conducive over the years and facilitated giving something back to the industry. "There was a time when film stars paid 80 per cent of their earned money as tax. When it (tax) is reduced now, I think it is time for us to give back to further the cause of cinema and entertainment industry", he said.

The actor was speaking on the sidelines of a function to launch city-based firm Cineola Digital Cinemas.

Calling the concern a "Kitty Hawk" (a US Naval ship), he said with the help of new technology like the newly launched company, "we should be able to take the film industry global".

The supercarrier USS Kitty Hawk, was the second naval ship named after Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the site of the Wright brothers' first powered airplane flight. Kitty Hawk was both the first and last active ship of her class and the last conventionally-fuelled aircraft carrier in service with the U.S. Navy.