Piracy, halls and poor story line killing Assamese cinema

Guwahati, Sep 19: Piracy, bad cinema halls and poor story-line besides lack of marketing skills have been billed as the few major reasons for the ongoing crisis of the Assamese film industry.

Unable to make an honourable living, the film fraternity of Asom got together in a seminar on Film, Media&Marketing today and concluded that these were some of the reason for the doom.

The Seminar was organised by Samaroh in collaboration with Gauhati Cine Club and was presided over by former DGP Harekrishna Deka, Commissioner of Asom Government Mrinal Kr Barua, film distributor C S Naryanan, noted film maker Munin Barua and film personality Nipon Goswami.

For the first time the cinema halls owners were accused of not maintaining and updating the halls. ''The ambience is big problem.

You want hygienic and clean cinema halls,'' said Mr Deka. He added that the number of cinema halls were dwindling every day, encouraging piracy more.

The renowned film producer and director D S Naryanan said promotion of good but smaller cinema halls will get back people to the cinema halls if Assamese films have good story line.

'' Unfortunately we have gone back to 1930s when the first Assamese film Joymoti was made'' said Mr Nipon Goswmi, the king of Assamese Cinema for over four decades.

It was boom time for Assamese film industry in the year 2002, but crisis crept in. The regional filmdom, which witnessed commercial success with a number of productions, ran with the crisis of quality throughout the year. Stories that deal with cheap love and romance, immature technical touch and lack of finer directorial treatment have subsequently reduced the interest of serious film buff of the state towards the local movies. The six-decade-old Assamese film industry, which started its voyage with Jaymati by Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala in the forties, have shaped impressive number of viewers today, but the quality graph of productions had already started declining.

As the industry is sinking the money is drying up and even ace director like Munin Braua is also not getting films for the past two years despite successive hits.

Speaking on the occasion Commissioner Mrinal Barua informed that more than Rs 15 crores are coming as per the Asom Accord to upgrade Jyoti Chitrabon film studio as well as to improve the Film Institute.

''But it will not be possible to expect advance from Asom government to make money. That is not possible,'' he said in reply to the oft spoken statements that government should intervene into the whole process.

As cinema halls are being brought down for other businesses, Assamese cinema is facing real crisis with money completely dried up.

UNI