Hans News Service Bengaluru

Filmdirector Mansore has urged the government to simplify the application process for state film awards and subsidies, alleging that the existing procedures impose an unnecessary financial burden on Kannada film producers.

Applications have been invited for the 2022 and 2023 State Film Awards, with October 31 set as the deadline. However, delays in the award and subsidy process over the past seven to eight years have made it difficult for producers to submit applications, he said in a press release.

Mansore pointed out that only a handful of production houses in the Kannada film industry operate on a full-fledged basis, while most are independent or part-time ventures that close their offices after producing one or two films. Many producers do not systematically preserve the necessary permissions and documents related to film production. After a film’s release, directors, production managers and other team members often move on to different assignments, leaving producers struggling to collect the required paperwork.

He alleged that the government had made the application process excessively complicated, apparently to avoid disputes after announcing awards and subsidies. Applicants are required to submit 10 copies of certain documents separately for awards and subsidies, even though such a requirement does not apply when submitting films for the National Film Awards, he said.

The biggest hurdle, according to Mansore, is the mandatory submission of Blu-ray discs. He said Blu-ray was a preferred format for viewing films in full 2K resolution a decade ago, but DVDs and Blu-ray discs have since largely disappeared from the market. Five good-quality blank Blu-ray discs cost between Rs 1,000 and Rs 4,000 online, he said. The state application process requires separate Blu-ray discs for awards and subsidies, with two discs required for each category. In Bengaluru, only four or five people are available to write films onto Blu-ray discs, and preparing each disc costs between Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000. The total expense for four discs can therefore range from Rs 8,000 to Rs 16,000.

In contrast, a pocket hard disk could be used to submit a film for around Rs 5,000, he said, adding that formats such as DCP and MOV can preserve viewing quality at 2K resolution. He questioned why the state government continued to insist on Blu-ray when the National Film Awards, Indian Panorama, international film festivals and the Film Archives in Pune had shifted to pocket hard drives.

Mansore also questioned whether the Blu-ray discs submitted to the Department of Information and Public Relations were stored securely. Citing his own experience with his film Act-1978, he said he had personally submitted the application and Blu-ray disc, but on the day the State Film Awards selection committee screened the film, a problem reportedly arose with the disc. The film was subsequently obtained on a pen drive for viewing. “If the work can be completed using a pen drive or pocket hard disk, why insist on Blu-ray? Even from the perspective of content security, would an open DCP format not be sufficient?” he asked.

He further said the government had fixed application fees of Rs 16,193 for Kannada films released in 2022 and Rs 18,621 for films released in 2023, separately for awards and subsidies, citing a bylaw that allows fees to be revised once every two years. When application fees, Blu-ray preparation costs and the expense of producing multiple sets of documents are taken into account, a producer applying for both an award and a subsidy could end up spending approximately Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 for a single film, he said. Mansore noted that many producers who invested in films after the COVID-19 pandemic had suffered losses and were hoping that awards and subsidies would help them recover at least part of their investments. Instead of placing additional financial and procedural burdens on them, the government and the Department of Information and Public Relations should immediately simplify the application process, he urged.He also appealed to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to intervene with the government and help secure a solution in the interest of Kannada film producers.