New Delhi: Director Hansal Mehta whose 'Shahid' is being released in India by UTV Motion Pictures, is happy that big studios are finally helping independent films. Mehta's comeback film, based on the life of lawyer and human rights activist, Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010 in Mumbai, is releasing after travelling to various international film festivals.
The director feels the industry is finally accepting the independent movie culture and is ready to co-exist with it. "If there is a 'Chennai Express' released by a big studio, the same studio is also helping distribute five indie movies, which is a mark of a change. Commercial and parallel movies now co-exist. Though there is a long way to go, the change is happening slowly," Mehta said during a panel discussion for upcoming Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF).
The director also talked about how National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) is not much of a help when releasing a movie.
"I wouldn't want to release my movie through NFDC because they are so apologetic about the cinema. They don't put enough money, the show timings aren't convenient, the publicity is not there. The fate of the movie in turn is doomed. If they are so sorry about the movie's release they rather don't do it," he said.
But National-award-winning Marathi filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni feels that there is still not enough support for regional indie cinema.
"I feel we have a long way to go. Helping five films a year is not enough. There are so many regional movies which don't get any support from studios," Kulkarni said.
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