Shabana Azmi Talks About Film Folks Always Being Considered 'Rich People' Who Don't Need Support, Says Industry Is Suffering
Shabana Calls For Support To The Film Industry
Updated : June 04, 2020 01:23 PM IST
The lockdown has made everything uncertain. No one knows when the situation will revert to normal. The industries are facing a big jolt. And like the other industries, the film industry has been facing a lot of crisis. Well, the cinemas are not opening anytime soon. The new films will not be releasing now. All the latest releases have been stalled and people are mostly consuming entertainment content on the OTT.
It was during an interaction with the Times of India Shabana Azmi said, like the other industries the film industry needs support as well. She has been quoted in the report as saying, “Well, I think that is inevitable in this situation. This is something that we have to do, but it’s at a great cost to the film industry. I hope that this isn’t going to last for a long time because that will be very difficult for films, which are ready for release.”
Many films are about to release digitally and therefore the movie industry is already feeling the heat. She has been further quoted as saying, “The digital platform is flourishing and you can see that OTT platforms are doing well, but films are waiting to be seen in the theatres. However, I don’t see people rushing to theatres any time soon. So, even if they decide to exhibit films on TV, it is going to be a big let-down in terms of commerce.”
And she further asserted that like the other industries the film industry too was in dire need of support and assistance. “What I find interesting is that the industry is talking about how it is suffering and how it needs support from the government. I agree with that. But for some strange reason, the film industry is always looked upon as ‘these are rich people, they don’t need any kind of support’. Whereas the fact is that we definitely need support because we are a very large industry and at the moment, everybody is suffering – from the biggest producers to the spot boys and daily wage earners. A lot of attempts have been made by people within the film industry to provide relief and I applaud these efforts. However, ultimately, in terms of policy, something has to be done soon,”