The BJP government may boast about its Rs 1 lakh crore budget this year. But the government-run prestigious Bangalore International Film Festival suffers from austerity measures prescribed by the same government.
Consequently, the fifth edition of the Film Festival, scheduled to begin from December 20, will do away with the International Film Competition, which would save it Rs 20 lakh.
Last year, during the fourth edition of the festival, the government had allocated Rs 2.5 crore. But this year, it has been cut to Rs 2 crore, despite a plea by the Film Festival committee to enhance the allocation.
Film Festival’s Artistic Director H.N. Narahari Rao and Festival Director and actor Tara, however, said the quality of the film festival will not be compromised, despite the fund crunch.
Information Department director Vishu Kumar said that a lot of measures have been taken to cut cost without compromising on the quality of the Festival.
“Mr Narahari Rao has a personal rapport with a lot of international film producers. His connections and initiatives saved us a lot of money while bringing prestigious movies to the festival,” he said.
Mr Rao and Ms Tara admitted that cancelling the International Film Competition section saved organisers at least Rs 20 lakh. While the award would have carried Rs 15 lakh, another Rs 5 lakh had to be spent on the juries.
The Film Festival has been classified into 12 categories, including two Retrospectives. Movies by two Indians – Mr Girish Kasaravalli from Karnataka and Mr Jhanu Barua from Assam – have been selected for this category.
The second category has been named “Masters of Cinema”, where movies of legends like Akira Kurosawa (Japan), Henri Georges Clouzot (France) and Michelangelo Antonioni (Italy) will be screened.The theme for the special genre will be “Anti War Films”, where five movies have been selected.
The organisers have tied up with Max Meuller Bhavan, where a separate category – “Special Focus of Germany” – will be screened. Besides, 14 films will be screened under “100 years of Indian Cinema”.