Policy to promote Kannada film industry soon: CM

Policy to promote Kannada film industry soon: CM

Deccan Herald

The State Government will soon come out with a comprehensive policy which would promote the Kannada film industry and put it on a higher pedestal, Chief Minister N Dharam Singh said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters after inaugurating India’s largest multiplex at the Forum Mall in Bangalore’s Koramangala area, Mr Singh said, “We are facing a very delicate problem in the State now. The film industry is going through a bad phase and there is a need for a comprehensive policy to solve the problems nagging it. The intended policy will shortly be placed before the State cabinet for a discussion.” Though Mr Singh did not clearly spell out the government’s line of thought, he gave indications enough to suggest that the proposed policy would come as a shot in the arm for the Kannada film industry. Mr Singh said, “we have heard the grievances of the Kannada film industry. We think its demands are justified. Kannada films cannot be relegated to the background because of the City’s cosmopolitan outlook.”

However, Mr Singh appealed to the industry to not to hit the streets and said the problems of the industry cannot be solved on the roads, they have to be deliberated across the table. Mr Singh lauded the PVR Cinemas and the Prestige Group for coming out with the multiplex, which he said was constructed at a cost of Rs 125 crore. He appealed to the multiplex management to respect the Kannada sentiment by screening Kannada films. “If you start screening only Shahrukh Khan’s movies, it will be a problem for us”, he quipped.

More time needed
Chief Minister Dharam Singh said the government required more time to resolve the film controversy as it is a very sensitive issue.

APOLOGY
The Kannada film industry has tendered its apology for the incident wherein chappals were hurled at Mr Dharam Singh while he was addressing the Thursday’s agitation.

“It is an unfortunate incident and the film industry will sincerely apologise for what happened at the protest to the Chief Minister,” the industry spokesperson Mukhyamantri Chandru said.