How the merger of national film bodies under a for-profit corporation will impact our culture

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is merging the Films Division (FD) the National Film Archives of India (NFAI), the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI), and the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) under the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). The first four are public-funded bodies while the latter is a for-profit company that has been incurring losses. The four bodies are responsible for various functions such as production of documentaries and short films, organisation of film festivals and preservation of film archives. Even as the merger is underway, it is unclear what the end result will look like.

In this episode of The Suno India Show, reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Shilpi Gulati, a national award-winning documentary filmmaker and academic. Shilpi helped draft the letter from the film fraternity that highlighted the concerns with this merger and urged the government to reconsider. She talks about how this will affect the future of films in our country.

References:

Cinematograph Bill: Another layer of censorship for filmmakers | TSIS
Report of Bimal Julka Committee | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
A Difficult Year For The Indian Film Fraternity – Shilpi Gulati | FemAsia Magazine 
A worrying trend: India’s new economy can not be a monopoly board | Business Standard
NFDC India – YouTube 

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