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Tag: Prakash Javadekar

  • Shekhar Kapur to head Pune-based FTII

    Shekhar Kapur to head Pune-based FTII

    MUMBAI: The Pune-based Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) has appointed veteran filmmaker Shekhar Kapur as the president &  chairman of the governing council, a position he will hold till  March 2023.

    Information & broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar made the announcement on Twitter. He also stated that that Kapur will add value to the institute.  

     

     

    Kapur, in turn,  thanked the government for the posting. 

     

     

    He replaces BP Singh who was appoiinted president n 2018. Singh is best known as the producer of the long-running Sony TV show CID and was recently appointed by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to its general assembly.

    Several industry stalwarts and organisations gave their thums up to Kapur’s  appointment. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The 75-year old Kapur is well known  both in India and internationally, having been involved with cinema for the past four to five decades. Some of the more critically acclaimed films he has been associated with as a producer or director include:  Mr India, Bandit Queen, Queen Elizabeth, Masoom, and others. This apart, he has been the  host of the TV show Pradhanmantri in 2013.

    FTII is India’s  leading institution for film making.  Started in 1960, the institute, it is situated on the premises of the erstwhile Prabhat Studios in Pune. It has  produced some of India’s finest film talents and icons. It offers a variety of courses including – direction, screenplay, cinematography, editing, direction, screen acting.

  • Media must do self-regulation to tackle fake news: I&B minister Prakash Javadekar

    Media must do self-regulation to tackle fake news: I&B minister Prakash Javadekar

    KOLKATA: Fake news has become a huge issue in the age of social media. While the mass easily falls prey to it, Information and Broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar called for self-regulation while publishing digital content to curb the menace.

    Addressing the delegates at the 16th Marketing Conclave organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), he said that fake news is a deadly virus, and emphasised on the importance of self-regulation.

    Terming fake news as more dangerous than paid news, the minister said that the government has taken an initiative to curb fake news by setting up a fact check team which checks and verifies information being floated in the digital medium.

    "We are definitely taking note of fake news and therefore we started one attempt in 2019 October, PIB Fact Check Unit. We have established PIB Fact Check units in all the states," Javadekar said.

    Seeking greater accountability from social media platforms, he said misinformation weakens the functioning of a democracy and there should be a calibrated approach to thwart the spread of lies and misinformation. With all villages in India set to be connected through Bharatnet, there is a greater need to educate the masses about the detection of fake news.

    Speaking about the importance of the digital medium, the minister said, “We must understand the pace with which it is growing and with the increasing number of smartphones users, digital content and advertising has become very important because of its reach and speed. Even the government has started to leverage the medium and using it to advertise.”

  • Government announces SOPs to restart film, TV, OTT production

    Government announces SOPs to restart film, TV, OTT production

    MUMBAI: It’s all systems go for TV, film and OTT originals’ productions in India. Minister of information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar today announced the release of standard operating procedures for productions to recommence. Tweeting the announcement Javadekar said, “The general principles behind the SOP will help create a safe working environment for cast and crew in the industry.”

    Amongst the measures the MIB has proposed include:

    ·      Minimum cast and crew to be engaged on sets during shoots.

    ·      Resting and stay over facilities to be provided.

    ·      Staggered call and packup times for production units having multiple production locations.

    ·      Older, pregnant, and comorbid technicians and artistes take extra precautions and preferable not be exposed to front line work requiring direct contact with the public.

    ·      Mandatory wearing of masks by all crew excepting the actors facing the camera for a scene.

    ·      Installation of Aarogya Setu app will be advised to be downloaded and used by all.

    ·      Exit and entry signs

    ·      Special markings to ensure social distancing is maintained at six feet for all during every stage of the film making process.

    ·      Visitors and audiences are barred from sets.

    ·      PPEs for make up technicians as well as hair stylist. Wigs and make up kits to not be shared. As far as possible, actors should do their own makeup.

    ·      Rubber gloves for all working with shared equipment on sets.

    ·      Minimise the use of props, sanitise them, if essential.

    ·      Lapel mikes to be avoided and not share. Direct physical contact with the diaphragms of mikes to be avoided.

    ·      A Covid supervisor to be appointed for each production.

    ·      Permissions to be taken from local authorities.

    The announcement of the SOPs for media production should come as a relief for India’s film studios, ad film and TV and digital originals producers. The sector has for a large part been held back from producing for the past five months, leading to losses running into thousands of crore.

    For a detailed list of the SOPs, click here.

     

     

  • I&B minister Prakash Javadekar launches DD Assam channel

    I&B minister Prakash Javadekar launches DD Assam channel

    NEW DELHI: Information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar today launched DD Assam 24X7, digitally. During the launch, Javadekar said, "We are elated to do this launch. It is a great gesture for the state of Assam, which sends the message of unity in diversity." 

    He further added that Assam and the north eastern region is full of natural diversity and cultural richness and yet it carries the thread of unity. It is, hence, necessary that each state has its own Doordarshan channel. It is important that all the regions should have their respective channels. It will be on DD Free Dish and be easily accessible for everyone. 

    Amongst others who addressed the virtual launch ceremony of DD Assam included I&B secretary Amit Khare, Doordarshan director general Mayank Agrawal and Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi S Vempati. 

    Aggarwal in his address said that DD Assam will showcase the rich culture and history of the state of Assam.

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  • I&B ministry to announce SOPs for M&E industry

    I&B ministry to announce SOPs for M&E industry

    NEW DELHI: Information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar today announced that the government will soon come up with new bring standard operating procedures for shooting in a post-pandemic world and will provide incentives for production across TV, film, animation, gaming and co-production. The completed details will be announced soon, the minister said at the FICCI FRAMES first virtual conference for the media and entertainment industry.

    Javadekar also said that the government will help the M&E industry in every phase and will play the role of partners. He mentioned that the government has to harness the soft power of India for the progress of the country.

    He added that the ministry recently provided facilities to foreign filmmakers to shoot in India through a single-window clearance has helped around 80 producers. He mentioned that India is a cost-effective option for many. Netflix biggie Extraction and Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film Tenet were shot in India.

    Javadekar, in his address, said, "The importance of the media and entertainment sector cannot be stressed enough. The content we produce through TV,  films or digital originals, is consumed by 150 countries. The sector generates millions of jobs and significant revenues. Despite the impact of Covid2019, it is growing at a good pace. Our share in the global market is small but can grow phenomenally. Given India's cost advantage of 40-60 per cent for producing the same quality of content as advanced countries, we can achieve stupendous results if we work together. There is a need for more entrepreneurs, founders and leaders in the media and entertainment sector to steer the industry forward with more innovations, origination and ownership. The government of India stands shoulder to shoulder with the industry in achieving all this."

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  • Uday Shankar stresses lowering dependence on ad rev

    Uday Shankar stresses lowering dependence on ad rev

    NEW DELHI: FICCI Frames, for the first time, conducted a digital virtual conference on the media and entertainment industry. Discussing the role of the creative economy to revitalise economic growth were The Walt Disney Asia Pacific chairman and Star and Disney India president and FICCI senior VP Uday Shankar, Google India country manager and vice president and FICCI committee chairman Sanjay Gupta, ambassador of Italy to India HE Vincenzo De Luca, minister of state for finance and corporate affairs Anurag Thakur and minister of information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar.

    Shankar touched upon important aspects on how to tackle the challenges due to pandemic and make the industry more vibrant. He said, “When FICCI frame was launched the total size of the media industry at that time was very low across the print, TV, radio but today it is a 20-25-billion-dollar industry. From about 100 channels in the year 2000 today we have 900 channels in the country. The size of the print industry which was about $1 billion is now at $4 billion.  India remains one of the few countries where the print business is reasonably healthy. The emergence of the digital industry has already become the nucleus of the media and entertainment sector.”

    He added, “Despite all the setbacks and hurdles, what we are facing is temporary. We can easily overcome them and make a big leap. As the industry has grown, its dependence on advertising has grown and it has helped all participants. But it has been a source of distraction also. If the industry has to grow to the next level, one thing that must be fixed is our ability and desire to get people to pay for what they consume and the only way the industry can grow."

    Shankar asserted that this year the industry is going to be hurt very badly due to Covid2019 and primarily due to the dependence on advertisers.

    “The content business has gone truly global and the opportunity to scale it up is much bigger. We have not been able to invest in content and take our ambition to the global domain. The industry needs to grow its content ambition. We need to think beyond weekly ratings and aim for Indian content to travel globally,” he said.

    Gupta said, “In 2019, the industry had a revenue of $20 billion and digital media accounted for 20 per cent but in 2020, the sector has shrunk to $15 billion. It is estimated that around 20 per cent may lose their jobs in the M&E industry. We need collective efforts within the industry and from government.”

    He also mentioned a point that despite years of applause for Bollywood, it has still not managed to create a truly global market. Gupta shared, “India gets less than seven per cent revenue from overseas market. Hollywood, in contrast earns more than 70 per cent from the global markets. We can be a $100 billion global industry by 2030 if we adopt significant policies and support to accelerate films and games."

    He gave some ideas to expedite some of the policy decisions which can help in the sector recoveries.

    “We need to possibly resolve some of the critical issues like tax burden on DTH and radio. Theatres can be allowed for multiple activities i.e. showing sports games and educational activities to maximise capital utilisation. The broadcasting sector will benefit by ensuring light-touch regulation to enabling the industry to continue on the recovery path with speed," shared Gupta.

    Thakur shared that in the last three years there has been a sea change in the entertainment industry as far as digital media is concerned. 

    “The creative economy is an interplay between human creative ideas, intellectual property, knowledge and technology. If we look at the global market of the creative goods it has doubled from $208 billion in 2002 to $509 billion in 2015. India needs to have a bigger chunk of this pie. While we create volumes, we also must create value and set our goals higher. From simply made in India, we must also aim to be designed and conceptualised in India," he said.

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  • I&B minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurates Virtual India Pavilion at Cannes Film Market 2020

    I&B minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurates Virtual India Pavilion at Cannes Film Market 2020

    MUMBAI: Minister of information and broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the India Pavilion at the Cannes Film Market 2020 virtually. The pavilion showcases Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional spheres and aims at forging an increasing number of international partnerships in distribution, production, filming in India, script development and technology and promoting film sales and syndication.

    An ensemble list of achievers, stakeholders of the media and entertainment industry and senior government officials attended the inaugural session at the Virtual India Pavilion. These included ministry of I&B, government of India secretary Amit Khare, ministry of I&B, government of India additional secretary Atul Kumar Tiwari, ministry of I&B, government of India and MD, NFDC joint secretary (films) TCA Kalyani, minister (Consular) embassy of India to France Shrila Dutta Kumar, CBFC chairman Prasoon Joshi, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, Active Telugu Film makers Guild national representative D Suresh Babu, Special Treats Productions Colin Burrows, Film personality Kangana Ranaut, actor Mai Ghat Usha Jadhav.

    Addressing the film fraternity and film lovers across the globe, Prakash Javedekar said, “Virtual inaugurations are the new normal and these virtual spaces are the new places for real partnerships.” He added that films are India’s soft power and the film facilitation office would be made a single window for all centre and state government permissions. The minister invited the international film fraternity to come shoot in India and sell in the world market. The minister expressed hope that the two films sent to Cannes from India would be appreciated world over.

    Prasoon Joshi questioned the panel on the importance of cinema. People are social animals, where cinema is part of everyday life. According to him cinema has got hardwired to now become an essential. If someone would remove entertainment from people’s lives, it would create a void. 

    He adds, “The question arises that what form will it take? Maybe for some time people will not be able to go to cinemas, but it does not mean the expression will stop. I think the silver lining is there.”

    He also mentioned that silver lining with regards to Cannes is 'nuance.' It is return and rebirth of nuance. He notes that earlier, entertainment was consumed in a more unconscious way. It is a platform that will return people’s lives. People are reanalysing their priorities; it will change the way they want to consume media and content. Now films will have to look at newer and fresher subjects which are more contextual. 

    Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar thinks that it is necessary to tell our stories and culture globally with films like Manikarnika and Tanhaji. Indian govt should encourage production houses abroad to come to India. One-window permission should be implemented to make a hassle-free process.

    There should be more collaborations where our stories can reach global market. India is vast in terms of language and rich culture. Hence, it is huge landscape for producers abroad.

    Shrila Dutta Kumar said, “We at the Indian embassy are fully aware of Indian cinema being a powerful medium that showcases many extraordinary facets of the country.”

    Indian cinema provides live publicity for our vast film production infrastructure, technically skilled manpower and the very choices of locale that we provide to foreign filmmakers. She also adds that the French government actively encourages foreign film production to shoot their movies in France, and also, in the last few years the government has been providing tax rebates for expenditure to foreign film companies. The general thought behind this move is to encourage film tourism.

    The India Pavilion would serve as an information dissemination point about India and the Indian cinema for the global film community. The pavilion would also facilitate business meetings and linkages between filmmakers and other media and entertainment industry stakeholders.

    During 22 June – 26 June 2020, the India Pavilion is organising various sessions on areas of topical interest: Future of films in a post Covid2019 world, film in India, taking Indian content to global markets: Importance and role of film festivals in the age of digital platforms, export of Indian film services to the world/servicing the world entertainment, and re-energising co-productions.

    Three roundtables are also set to be organised to discuss threadbare the ideas on promoting Indian films and to anchor partnerships between the domestic and global media & entertainment industry players.

    For the first time, India pavilion will also organise two screenings: Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/200 (Marathi) and Hellaro (Gujarati), both National Film Award winning movies.

    Also, to mark the centenary year of the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, the Virtual India Pavilion is showcasing some of his exquisite work: Ganashatru, Ghare Baire, Agantuk, and Music of Satyajit Ray at the Pavilions website.

    The minister also inaugurated the poster and festival booklet for International Film Festival of India 2020 to be held from 20 to 28 November in Goa.

  • Producers Guild of India issues clarification on shooting resumption guidelines

    Producers Guild of India issues clarification on shooting resumption guidelines

    MUMBAI: The Film & TV Producers Guild of India (the guild) today issued a clarification relating to shooting guidelines that would be put in place once the lockdown courtesy the Covid2019 pandemic is lifted and filming is permitted by the various governments.  Certain media outlets have carried reports detailing the list of protocols that would need to be followed while filming, sourcing it to the guild. 

    A release issued by the guild today had the following to state: 

    “A work-in-progress document prepared by the guild of draft guidelines for resumption of shooting activities has recently been circulating widely in the media and industry.

    This is to clarify that this document is only an early internal draft prepared by the guild in preparedness for the future resumption of shooting activities. Any final safety protocols and guidelines will be formalised only after comprehensive consultations with government officials, medical professionals and relevant industry bodies.”

    As readers may recollect, film and TV productions have been stalled for more than a month and a half and broadcasters have been airing reruns of old shows on their channels. The cost of constructed sets and rentals of different shooting floors and studios have been accumulating in certain cases. And both producers and broadcasters have been working on finding a solution around this along with studio and shooting floor owners.

    It may also be recalled, a publication carried a story quoting minister of information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar saying that film and TV shoots could start in response to a plea by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, if the Maharashtra government gives the production sector the go ahead.

    But since then, the Maharashtra government lead by Uddhav Thackeray took a decision to move into Lockdown 3.0 in order to get a handle on the spread of the Sars Cov2 virus. 

    Meanwhile, reports have appeared about TV productions commencing in Australia and a local publication carried a news report that Karnataka is likely to green signal film and TV shoots from next week. 

  • FTA channels seek waiver of carriage fees

    FTA channels seek waiver of carriage fees

    MUMBAI: A consortium of free-to-air (FTA) broadcasters whose channels are placed on Prasar Bharati’s DTH platform DD free dish has requested information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar for a waiver of 100 per cent carriage fees for the first quarter (April-June) and 50 per cent for the second quarter (July-September) for those channels that have secured MPEG-2 slots during the recent 44th e-auction. 

    The consortium has sought the minister’s intervention in this matter so that the broadcasting sector can tide over the current situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In a letter to the minister, the FTA channels’ heads stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted all sectors of the Indian economy. 

    “Advertisement bookings have nosedived by 80 per cent. Commercial advertisements are the sole revenue stream for free-to-air channels to support all its costs of content, operations, carriage, marketing and transmission, and in the current scenario, we have been struggling to deal with a steep de-growth and the biggest impact is on advertising revenues that is likely to see a 70-80 per cent pullback,” said the letter.

    The broadcasters said that in line with government’s vision of making best of entertainment accessible freely to all socio-economical class of the population through the DD free dish platform, all the FTA channels play a very important role especially for the poorer sections of our society and thus its commercial and sustainability must be taken into consideration.

    Thanking the government for including electronic media which reaches the length and breadth of the nation as one of the essential services during the lockdown period, the broadcasters assured that they intend to continue reaching out to our millions of viewers on a daily basis “and for which our teams are working tirelessly.”

    When in March the channels reached out for waiving carriage fees for the April-June quarter, they got a letter on 7 April offering a deferred payment schedule instead of a three-month waiver, and “that too with a provision for furnishing a bank guarantee.”

    The FTA channels, in their letter, said that this would not serve the purpose at this juncture, “but instead put additional hardships on the company in terms of bank guarantee charges, interest payments and GST amounts with effectively no relief on the total carriage fee payments.”

    In light of the current adverse business environment, the said letter, their request “requires a lot more sympathetic consideration, considering our revenues have been eroded.” There are a few channels which have been recently launched and they are bearing the brunt with no revenues at all.

    The channels intimated the minister that with dwindling revenues, it will be difficult for them to pay employees’ salaries, which will affect hundreds of livelihoods.  

    Signatories to the letter:

    Pradeep Guha, MD, 9X Media Pvt. Ltd.                               

    Aditya Pittie, MD, IN 10 Media Pvt. Ltd.

    Ajit Joshi, Director, SwamiFilm Entertainment Pvt. Ltd & SuperHit Broadcasting Pvt. Ltd.

    Sahib Chopra, Director, Shopping Bazaar Pvt. Ltd.

    Manoranjan TV, Manoranjan Movies & Manoranjan Grand

    Hitesh Sabharwal, CEO, Cinema 24*7 Pvt. Ltd.

    Dr. Darshan Singh & Vishvajit Sharma, Chairman & MD, Teleone Consumers Product Pvt. Ltd.

     Maha Movie, Maha Punjabi, Lord Buddha TV

     Ranvir Singh, Director, Skystar Entertainment Pvt. Ltd

     Rakesh Gupta, Sadhna Media Group

    BP Aggarwal, MD, Surya Sagar Communication Pvt. Ltd., Surya Cinema & Surya Bhojpuri

    Kailasnath Adhikari, promoter, Sri Adhikari Brothers- TV Vision Ltd.

    Natasha Fernandes, Director, B4U Broadband (India) Pvt. Ltd.

    Santosh Garg, Ashirwad Telenetwork Pvt. Ltd.

    Manish Shah, Director, Goldmines Telefilms Pvt ltd

    Sandeep Gupta, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd.

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  • DD National to telecast 80’s show ‘Ramayana’ from tomorrow

    DD National to telecast 80’s show ‘Ramayana’ from tomorrow

    MUMBAI: Those who have been quarantined in their homes have one great reason to cheer! One of the most iconic TV serials of the 80s, Ramayana, is making a comeback from tomorrow. 

    DD National will re-telecast the serial from tomorrow (28 March). While one episode will be telecast between 9 am and 10 am, another episode will be aired between 9 pm and 10 pm, informed minister for information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar.

    The minister said: "Happy to announce that on public demand, we are starting retelecast of 'Ramayana' from tomorrow, Saturday, March 28 in DD National."

    The series, aired on all Sundays between January 1987 and July 1988 in DD, has been etched in the nostalgic memories of Indians.

    Just yesterday, we reported that Prasar Bharati is looking at re-runs of some of its iconic shows from the 80s. The other show that is likely to be re-commissioned is Mahabharat.