Like many other industries, the New Year has brought changes for the entertainment business as well. While it is difficult to predict the outcome of the latest development in showbiz, it has grabbed the attention of many. For the unversed, the Films Division, the Children’s Film Society of India, the Directorate of Film Festivals and the National Film Archive of India will henceforth come under National Films Development Corporation (NFDC).
Speaking of the same, Ravinder Bhakar, MD of NFDC, said, “The cabinet took the decision long back, and the merger was formally completed on December 31. Now, the step is going to increase the transparency in the system with effective utilisation of the resources.”
Elaborating on the merge, he asserted, “There will be multiple things which were handled by these bodies and showed a sign of duplication. That is what we want to avoid and get better utilisation of the sources. With the bodies coming under one umbrella, they all will be working for the welfare and development of the Indian film industry. As of now, effective deliverables are not coming.”
The decision of the merger was earlier announced in December 2020 by the Union government. However, celebs like Naseeruddin Shah, Nandita Das, and Anand Patwardhan had voiced their opinion on the same. This time too, a bunch of filmmakers and actors have come forward to condemn the merge.
Actress Rasika Duggal wrote, “Access to NFAI was one of the reasons why I went to the Film Institute. There was something magical about that space,” in her Instagram story. Meanwhile, Anurag Kashyap labelled it as “black day for Indian cinema.”
Reportedly, around 1,539 persons including actors, filmmakers and other members of the Indian film industry had sent a letter to the ministry in December 2021 against the government’s decision to merge all the above-mentioned branches with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
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