PUNE: The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Thursday announced that the world’s largest film restoration project is being undertaken in alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to preserve and protect India’s rich cinematic heritage.
“Out of the total outlay of Rs 597 crore earmarked for this Mission, Rs 363 crore shall be utilized exclusively for restoration purposes, making it one of the World’s largest film restoration projects. It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to prioritize preservation, protection and promotion of India’s rich cultural heritage, and films constitute an important part of this heritage,” he said during his visit to the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) in Pune.
He also remarked that films are part of our culture and that the seminal contribution made by the film industry in the last 100 years has made India the biggest film industry in the world.
The 47-year-old informed that the process of restoring over 5900 short films, documentaries and features is underway and this exercise carried out by NFAI proves to be one of the world’s biggest restoration, conservation, preservation and digitization processes undertaken.
The minister held a meeting to review the functioning of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and deliberated on the vision of taking FTII to international standards of excellence. “FTII is a prestigious institute of India. During the review meeting, an elaborate discussion was held on how to take FTII forward in the TV and Film sector and also promote FTII in the field of Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics. Also, by honing the skills in our students they can be transformed from job-seekers to entrepreneurs,” he said.
“Our institutions and students are central to achieving our vision in the Media & Entertainment sector. It’s time to re-position our lens and aim to make India the content hub of the world,” the Minister stated.
Thakur also released the Hindi edition of Lensight, the academic journal of FTII. The minister was given a tour of the Institute and he urged the faculty to keep upgrading themselves and bring partners from industry to FTII. He also emphasized on the larger outreach activities and partnerships with organizations to run courses in film and television production in various parts of the country.