Bengaluru:Film director 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.