Changes between Initial Version and Version 1 of National Film DevelopmentCorporation


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Timestamp:
Jun 28, 2012, 3:32:04 PM (12 years ago)
Author:
Trupti
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  • National Film DevelopmentCorporation

    v1 v1  
     1'''National Film Development 
     2Corporation''' 
     3 
     4 
     5The Film Finance Corporation was set up in 
     61960 on the recommendation of the S.K. Patil 
     7Film Enquiry Committee Report (1951). Initially 
     8controlled by the Ministry of Finance, it was 
     9transferred to the Ministry of Information & 
     10Broadcasting in 1964. Its original objective was 
     11to promote and assist the mainstream film 
     12industry by ‘providing, affording or procuring 
     13finance or other facilities for the production of 
     14films of good standard’. In its first six years, it 
     15extended production loans for c.50 films, 
     16notably Ray’s Charulata (1964), Nayak 
     17(1966) and Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1968). 
     18Under the direct influence of Prime Minister 
     19Indira Gandhi, the FFC initiated the New 
     20Indian Cinema with Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan 
     21Shome and Mani Kaul’s Uski Roti (both 
     221969). In 1971, the I & B Ministry laid down, as 
     23part of the FFC’s obligations, the directive that 
     24it ‘develop the film in India into an effective 
     25instrument for the promotion of national 
     26culture, education and healthy entertainment 
     27[b]y granting loans for modest but off-beat films 
     28of talented and promising people in the field’. 
     29The new policy yielded instant results as a 
     30whole generation of new film-makers was 
     31allowed to emerge. However, both the terms 
     32on which loans were granted (usually requiring 
     33collateral from producers) and the limited 
     34distribution outlets, exacerbated by the FFC/ 
     35NFDC’s apparent inability to build its own 
     36exhibition network, gave their films a 
     37reputation for lacking ‘financial viability’. In 
     381968 the FFC’s remit was extended to include 
     39distribution and export. In 1973 it became the 
     40channelling agency for imported raw stock, 
     41and in 1974 (after the withdrawal of the 
     42MPEAA from the Indian market) it started 
     43importing foreign films for local distribution. 
     44These activities soon became the FFC’s major 
     45profit centres leading to an increasing 
     46marginalisation of its film production/ 
     47financing responsibilities. By 1976, the FFC’s 
     48independent cinema policy came under 
     49withering attack from various quarters. The 
     50Committee on Public Undertakings issued a 
     51Report (79th Report, 1976) on the FFC arguing 
     52that ‘there is no inherent contradiction 
     53between artistic films of good standard and 
     54films successful at the box office [and] the 
     55Corporation should [s]atisfy itself in all 
     56possible ways that the films [h]ave a 
     57reasonable prospect of being commercially 
     58successful’. In 1980 the current NFDC was 
     59established by amalgamating the FFC with the 
     60partially state-owned Indian Motion Pictures 
     61Export Corporation (IMPEC), making it the 
     62sole canalising agent for the import of all 
     63foreign films, with incentives to non-resident 
     64Indians to buy, import and distribute foreign 
     65films in India. Between 1981 and 1988 the 
     66NFDC was also the parent organisation for the 
     67Directorate of Film Festivals. With the 
     68haphazard extensions of its remit and the 
     69repeated policy shifts imposed on it, the 
     70absence of a clear definition of the NFDC’s 
     71responsibilities to the Indian cinema has 
     72remained a persistent problem. In spite of its 
     73monopolistic privileges in the 80s the NFDC 
     74continued to describe itself as a victim of state 
     75policies on e.g. taxation. The 1983-4 chairman, 
     76Hrishikesh Mukherjee, stated in the 1984 
     77report that ‘Unhealthy and underhand dealings 
     78particularly in the big cities are a part of the 
     79national distribution and exhibition system. 
     80Unless and until one becomes a part of this 
     81racket, it is practically impossible to operate in 
     82this area.’ Consequently, the NFDC sought to 
     83institutionalise a confused desire for ‘good’ 
     84cinema, measured mainly in terms of national 
     85film awards and international film festival 
     86exposure, that should be able to make a profit 
     87in a market where it could not compete with 
     88the industrial cinema’s levels of expenditure 
     89on exhibition, production and promotion. In 
     90the early 90s the NFDC changed again, its coproduction 
     91policy with  
     92Doordarshan effectively shielding it from most industrial 
     93pressures. In 1993 the NFDC took over 
     94Doordarshan’s private Metro Channel and later 
     95its ‘Movie Club’ film channel. 
     96 
     97[[Glossary]]