Film Festivals should promote good cinema: Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Noted film Director and Producer Adoor Gopalakrishnan has flagged the issue of finance for good cinema and said that distribution is another big challenge facing the new wave cinema. Adoor’s first film Swayamvaram( 1972), which pioneered the new wave cinema movement in Kerala was made with a paltry budget of two and a half lakh rupees of which one and a half lakh was taken as loan from the Film Finance Corporation, a cooperative, at 18 percent interest. Talking to the media here, Adoor lamented that cooperatives in Kerala have stopped functioning for the last 15 years thus affecting the production of art films. He said, even the 20 odd private channels in Kerala will show a reasonably good film for the lack of entertainment value or on pure commercial consideration. Adoor informed that after his debut film “Swayamvaram” got the National Award, the film was re-distributed and it was an instant hit in Kerala and recovered the money.

On the celebration of 100 Years of Indian Cinema, the noted Director said that it should not become an occasion to show the mediocre films, rather good films made in every nook and corner of the country should be selected to exhibit in the festival. Adoor also called for artistic integrity and exhorted the serious filmmakers to shun the allurements of Bollywood.