Bhubaneswar: Number of cinema halls in the State should be increased to make the Odia film industry a thriving sector for aspiring filmmakers, said Munna Khan, actor and chairman of Odisha Film Development Corporation (OFDC) here on Saturday.
“Our filmmakers are making good cinema with relevant stories but the dwindling number of theatres is eating out profits as a movie is being able to release in less than 100 theatres,” Khan explained at the sixth annual convention of OTV “Foresight 2016” here.
The actor-turned-politician also raised the role of government in making the film industry profitable by saying if the State government lends support then Odia film industry will thrive once again.
Echoing the voice of Khan, Bijendra Mohanty, managing director of Sriya-Swati Cine Complex Private Ltd, said: “Tamil, Telgu and Kannada film industries are making 230, 220 and 150 movies a year but we made 27 films last year out of which only three films were able to recover the cost. One more way to make the industry commercially viable is the TV channels, which are now producing films. These TV channels should wait at least one or two years to telecast the films on their channel”.
Actor Samresh, who was also present at the occasion, said, “We are making low budget movies with a maximum of Rs 80 lakh as compared to Rs 10 crore in other film industries.
Besides, our filmmakers are not able to make cinema with our own culture and tradition due to lack of government support like exempting entertainment taxes on these movies.
Speaking on the occasion, another Ollywood actor and producer Pupindar said, “There is a mindset of Odia filmmakers to make a film with a shoe-string budget and then try their level best to make money by releasing it in theatres and through satellite rights”.