John Bailey, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on Sunday said Indian films need to do more to get noticed on the world map. Mr. Bailey, who is in Mumbai with his wife and Governor of the Academy, Carol Littleton, said Indian films are mostly known for Bollywood musicals.
“I think Indian cinema is one of the richest in the world with so many languages and mythologies. But most of us know Indian films from the fantasy of Bollywood musicals. So all I would say is that India needs to do more to make the films that tell the world who you are and make sure those are the films that get seen around the world,” Mr. Bailey said.
Mr. Bailey and Ms. Littleton were speaking at an interactive session hosted by the State government on Sunday at the Films Division Auditorium.
The session invited filmmakers and students of film cinematography,editing and mass media courses. The discussion was moderated by film director Madhur Bhandarkar and actor Sonali Kulkarni.
Ms. Littleton said, “In some ways, I miss celluloid, but in a way, the change of digital editing came like a wave and I guess we all have adapted to it.”
About male domination in the cinema, Ms. Littleton agreed that the opportunities have been fewer for women. “But if you have the talent and do your work well, you can excel,” she said.
Mr. Bailey said a lot of changes are being considered in the Academy. “With digital streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, we are planning to make some changes in the Academy in a year or so.”
On the State’s proposal for opening an Academy office in Mumbai, Mr. Bhandarkar said, “If this happens, then I think this will be an exceptionally huge development for Indian cinema, considering that our country is the biggest producer of films in the world.”
The students seemed to leave with a lot of inspiration and motivation. Nikunj Purohit, a second-year BBM student, said, “This was once in a lifetime experience for all of us, to have a one-to-one session with such eminent personalities of the film industry.”
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