Jaya Bachchan says artistes need freedom, not fetters

The eighth edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) got off to a colourful start on Thursday with veteran Bollywood actor Jaya Bachchan exhorting the State government not to curtail the film fraternity’s freedom of expression.

Inaugurating the annual event in the Vidhana Soudha premises, Jaya Bachchan applauded the government’s gesture of earmarking 100 acres of land for a Film City in Mysuru.

Addressing the gathering in Hindi, she said, “I humbly request the government to restrict itself to merely extending assistance and encouragement. Creative people should be given the freedom to think and act. Else, the work of art will suffer and become substandard. If there isn't too much interference, then the Kannada film industry would soar to great heights.”

Thanking Jaya for “speaking her mind”, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assured her that his government would not tread the path of interference.

“My government believes in freedom of expression for everybody, and more so for art and cinema. Without freedom, there is no creativity, and without creativity there is no art or culture,” he said.

Violence and obscenity
Urging the film industry to refrain from promoting obscenity, vulgarity and violence, Siddaramaiah, who spoke in Kannada and English, said filmmakers should shoulder the responsibility of carrying social messages through their works of art. Citing the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, which has highlighted the adverse impact of such films on the mindsets of the audience, Siddaramaiah said that it was “shocking” to note how negatively films can affect society.

“Cinema is an influential medium, and unfortunately, violence and obscenity depicted in films are being imitated by youngsters, which is impacting society adversely. Like in the past, filmmakers should carry social messages in their films,” he added.

Hailing Kannada cinema, he said that many from the State such as director V Shantaram, actor Rajkumar, cinematographer V K Murthy and Rajanikanth have contributed to Indian cinema.

Sandalwood, in its journey of eight decades, had grown both in terms of content and technology, he pointed out.

‘Bengaluru unlucky for Bachchans’
Impressed by the encouragement and assistance given to the film industry by the State government, Jaya Bachchan said that she would convey to her “colleagues” in Bollywood to make use of the facilities being provided here.
She also said that she had broken the family jinx by coming to Bengaluru. “Unfortunately, Bengaluru has not been lucky for my family. My husband was injured while shooting here and the Miss World event was met with a lot of resistance. I will, however, tell my husband to come here and shoot and break the jinx.”
Like Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Siddaramaiah had shown enthusiasm to promote films. “What you are giving to the industry is a huge encouragement,” she added.
Amitabh Bachchan was injured while shooting for ‘Coolie’ on the Bangalore University campus on July 26, 1982; the Miss World event organised by Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd (ABCL) in Bengaluru in November 1996 met with resistance.

Rajendra Singh Babu, Kannada film maker:
A film policy is being readied which will take into consideration the road map for the next five years. The industry is growing at a rapid pace, as the demand is increasing, especially from mobile users. The government should set up a film directorate for film festivals. The film ‘Ramachari’ has earned Rs 30 crore. We are sure to start earning Rs 50-100 crore eventually.