Indian cinema played crucial role through turbulent times: Thakur
Isha Sahai Bhatnagar
NEW DELHI: India has the ability to become one of the leading countries in production of high quality content, information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said during his keynote speech at the India Forum at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, as he invited various filmmakers to shoot in India.
“Indian cinema has played a crucial role and portrayed our fight for Independence, be it through turbulent times and in our times. Today, the media and entertainment sector in India is a significant contributor not only to the creative economy but also for projecting India’s soft power abroad,” said Thakur. “With collaborative effort, our nation will be among leading quality content producing nations...”
Thakur, who is leading the Indian contingent at the international film festival, also said that India’s red-carpet presence captured the diversity of cinematic excellence not only in terms of representation of actors and filmmakers but also through over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
“…The celebration of India at Cannes and the recognition of our cinematic excellence the world over is set to manifest the country into the content hub of the world,” he said.
“According to reports, the OTT market in India is predicted to grow at 21% annually… It has been the case during the pandemic and we are going to reach the two-billion mark by 2024.”
Extending an invitation to global filmmakers, he said to he gathering, “Come and shoot in India, enjoy our hospitality, our breathtaking landscapes, our ancient history and take advantage of our technological prowess.”
Thakur’s keynote address came in the presence of the chairperson of the CBFC and lyricist Prasoon Joshi, actor and director R Madhavan, filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor, secretary, I&B ministry Apurva Chandra.