Sangeeta Das
Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma,
in an attempt to revive and promote the Assamese film industry, has unveiled the
Assam State Film (Finance & Development) Corporation’s or ASFFDC Cinema
Hall called Aideo. He released the National Award winning movie Anunad – The
Resonance Today as well.
https://x.com/CMOfficeAssam/status/1746882734365249825?s=20
In line with the State Government’s objective,
the ASFFDC has begun building five new halls and renovation of nine existing
ones to mark its Golden Jubilee Year. Other than this, the corporation has supported
56 regional language filmmakers as well as 239 artistes through its Artist
Welfare Corpus Fund.
Addressing the gathering, CM Himanta called
for Assamese cinema’s “comprehensive transformation” in numerous aspects of
film production and accentuated the importance of overall storytelling, narratives,
language, upgrading digital infrastructure and embracing modern techniques such
as good graphics, sound, motion among other aspects to be in parallel with the growing
standards of the film industry.
CM Himanta noted South Indian movies have
been able to leave an indelible mark by incorporating beautiful art techniques,
while Assamese films’ traditional approaches failed to attract a wide audience.
Thus, a competitive mindset is required within the Assamese film industry to maintain
its appeal and relevance.
The Assam CM referenced a cinema hall
director’s remark regarding people’s drastically increased consumption of movies.
It busted the myth and concern regarding big screens being overshadowed by
contents of OTT platforms whereas both have witnessed simultaneous growth in
reality.
Nobody can compel the audience to invest
in movie halls, noted Dr Himanta, if Assamese cinema lacks quality whereas
there’s “no shortage of cinema audiences”.
The film fraternities “must bridge the distance
between regional and mainstream cinema”, he asserted, to make Assamese films “culturally
rich” as well as “technically advanced”.
