Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan inaugurated the prestigious Cannes film festival this year. The actor has expressed that he feels honored and proud to be part of an international film festival and hence he has thanked the Indian government for this moment.
Prior to leaving the Cannes Film Festival and returning to India to finish work on Vishwaroopam 2, Dr Haasan extended his congratulations to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and FICCI. ‘It is important that the filmmakers of today find the right people to connect with,’ he said. ‘And so it is a great initiative on part of the Ministry of I&B and FICCI to develop the program of the India Pavilion in such a way that many important international names in the film business have been coming to the pavilion – providing Indian filmmakers and delegates at Cannes the rare opportunity to interact with them. The international community too will benefit from the wealth of knowledge about the Indian film sector that will be at their disposal thanks to these interactive panel discussions, these one-on-one meetings, and from the India Film Guide, which contains all sector-relevant information for Indian cinema today. As an Indian filmmaker, I am proud to have been part of this wonderful endeavor by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in making the India Pavilion at Cannes a hub of networking, business and informative interactions to promote partnerships between the Indian film fraternity and the global one. I am happy to know that going forward Indian filmmakers will have the support of the government in pushing forward their business and creative ventures.’ He statement does not end here, he further added, ‘We make one thousand films a year, but our films should be in the Top 20 in the world, Not all our films are made with a broader vision. But today more and more new filmmakers are making movies that broaden the vision,’.
Dr Haasan lauded the new breed of filmmakers in India, who are straying from the path of the commercial mainstream formulas. Speaking at the session on ‘Co-Production: Merging Resources to Create Magic, Dr Haasan said ‘The problem is that we are a self-sufficient nation!’ He stressed that Indian filmmakers need to stop being satisfied with the familiarity and safety of local markets and start taking risks – so that India can constantly produce truly global content that is appreciated across the world.
Dr Haasan was also the guest of honor at the exclusive networking receptions at the India Pavilion, one of them hosted by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, and three of them co-hosted by the ministry, and film bodies, producers and filmmakers from other countries: New Zealand, Australia and Germany.
