Government doing everything to kill cinema: Adoor Gopalakrishnan at Hyderabad Literary Festival

Hyderabad: Coming hard on the BJP government at the Centre, acclaimed filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan on Friday observed that the central government was doing everything it could to kill good cinema in the country. The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) has nothing to do with cinema and is in deep coma. People belonging to a particular political party who have never watched good films are on the jury of national awards. They decide the films that are shown across the world.

Worst time for a filmmaker

"There is a belief that cinema represents life but popular cinema does not," said the 16-time national award winning filmmaker. General public cannot be away from commercial cinema, they are connected terribly to these terrible films. Novels are no longer made into films. Stories are written in hotel rooms, that is how successful films are made these days. The more the violence, greater is the acceptance. People see cinema as a commercial vehicle.

Then there are vigilantes who stop you from showing films, especially historical ones.

Censorship an outdated concept

Questioning the idea of censorship certificate, he said only dictatorial governments have censorship. It is an outdated concept. He also came down heavily on the need for government advertisements; especially, the ones exhorting people not to smoke and that it is injurious to health. "Viewing gory pictures of patients with mouth cancer is not a nice way to start watching a film."

There are several filmmakers who make small budget films who have to get certification on several issues including that animals were not harmed during the making of a film. One can just download blue films at will but a film maker needs to run around departments for months to get the green signal, he added.

The government wants to achieve a welfare state through films. Why does not the government say that poverty is a sin. It is because it creates it. Cinema is not your wall-board for imposing your whims, he said and that the cinematic experience should be pure.

Streaming will kill cinema

A film needs to be viewed in a particular way with the sound and screen and not on a television. Streaming will kill cinema, said the director of films such as Elipathayam and Mukhamukham. Cinema needs to be experienced in its totality. In the 60s and 70s, there were adaptations of novels in films and some spirit of the original life came up, not anymore said Adoor Gopalakrishnan.  

Adoor's Anguish

Novels are no longer made into films. Stories are written in hotel rooms, that is how successful films are made these days. The more the violence, greater is the acceptance. People see cinema as a commercial vehicle