The glitz and glamour at this year’s Cannes Film Festival has been the entertainment highlight of the week, including for Bollywood stars such as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Deepika Padukone.
But beyond the red carpet revelry, there have been some key announcements too at one of the premier events in the global film calendar. Indian Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur unveiled two schemes to incentivise the shooting of foreign films in India and to make India a favourite destination for foreign filmmakers.
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The two schemes – Incentive Scheme for Audio-Visual Co-production and Incentive Scheme Shooting of foreign films in India – are aimed at unleashing the potential of Indian media and entertainment industry. Thakur, who inaugurated the India Pavilion at Cannes Film Market 'Marche du Film' earlier in the week, said that Indian cinema is a story of human talent, triumph and the trajectory of New India.
He said: "While reflecting the values, beliefs, and experiences of the Indian people, Indian cinema has also showcased their hopes, dreams and achievements. While being rooted in Indian culture, the Indian film industry has grown to acquire a universal character. And while preserving our age-old stories, the Indian filmmakers are innovating in their art of storytelling through use of technology.
"Indian cinema is not only the story of a 6,000-year-old civilisation, not only the story of 1.3 billion tales but also the story of human talent, triumph and the trajectory of New India narrated through your lens."
He said that through the beautiful journey Indian cinema has inspired global filmmakers and also been inspired by them and 2020s are the best time to make art and films in India.
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He added: "We have a strong intellectual property regime, and the digital medium now complements the other more established modes of consumption and dissemination such as theatres and movies.
“This has brought about a democratisation of consumer choice like never before, and our government is intent on preserving this via support to the creative industries."
Among the other Indian highlights of the week, was Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s floral gown outing for the grand red carpet premiere of Tom Cruise starrer ‘Top Gun: Maverick’.
(ANI)