Uncertainty over IFFI
Sandesh Prabhudesai
25 June 2005
The 36th International Film Festival, scheduled consecutively
for the second time in Goa, has become an uncertainty.
“We will not hold IFFI in Goa if the centre does not
fully finance the 10-day event”, says chief minister
Pratapsing Rane.
The newly elected Congress-led alliance government has taken
a tough stand on holding the prestigious film festival, scheduled
from 24 December to 4 January.
Rane has severely criticised the decision of his predecessor,
former BJP chief minister Manohar Parrikar, for spending Rs
150 crore from the state treasury to build the infrastructure.
Rane believes that the responsibility of creating such huge
infrastructure should be borne by the centre and not the state.
The local state government beautified the whole Panaji city
for the IFFI, besides building INOX multiplex, renovation
of the Kala Academy theatre and widening the road along rive
Mandovi.
The chief minister has thus decided to give a green signal
to this year’s scheduled event only if the centre agrees
to bear the additional financial burden of the event, besides
actual expenditure of holding the festival.
A delegation of the union information and broadcasting ministry
is expected to visit the state next month. Prior to this,
Rane plans to meet union information and broadcasting minister
Jaipal Reddy during his Delhi visit next week.
Goa would move into action for the IFFI only after a formal
MoU was signed between the centre and the state, on the lines
of one-year MoU signed last year.
“We have not even decided whether the sate information
department or the Goa Entertainment Society would organise
the festival”, states information secretary Jayashree
Raghuraman.
Former chief minister Parrikar however feels that the state
government should not miss the opportunity of making Goa a
permanent centre for IFFI.
Union minister Reddy, while inaugurating the festival last
year, had categorically stated that the decision to make Goa
a permanent centre would be taken only after reviewing the
performance for two years.
The Bollywood had however strongly stood behind the state
government to make Goa a permanent centre. This included top
directors like Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Sham Benegal, Dr
Jabbar Patel and even film stars like Amitabh Bacchan, Amir
Khan, Anil Kapur, Manish Koirala etc.
Though the film industry was found more relaxed in Goa rather
than Delhi or Mumbai, the state is yet to provide a well-equipped
auditorium for the inaugural ceremony.
Last year, the inaugural ceremony was held in thousand-seater
auditorium at Kala Academy, keeping most of the delegates
out for want of space. Delegates were however quite happy
with the four-screen INOX multiplex, which provides state
of the art facilities.
As no headway is being made to build a full-fledged convention
centre, the festival will have to be once again inaugurated
at the same Kala Academy complex, provided the state government
gives its nod for the event.
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