An Indian film competing for Oscars may get around Rs 1 crore while those in contention for an award at Cannes or Venice may get around Rs 50 lakh, as the I&B ministry is planning to create a fund to support Indian film-makers bid to gain recognition abroad.
In another move to promote India as a film shooting destination, the ministry has approached the Home and External Affairs Ministries, seeking a special category visa for foreign film-makers who want to examine locales in the country.
Minister of State for I&B, Rajyavardhan Rathore said, "a proposal has been readied to provide support to film-makers as they try to win awards in major international film festivals." The minister said that as per the proposal, the Centre may provide assistance to such film-makers for travelling, exhibiting their movies, hiring of halls etc in different countries.
As per the I&B ministry's proposal, a film going to Oscar may get up to Rs 1 crore while a film going to festivals like Venice or Cannes, may get up to Rs 50 lakh, officials said. ''If Indian movies win more international awards, it will help in providing a boost to the country's entertainment industry globally.''
Rathore also said the I&B ministry has suggested to MHA and MEA, that a separate category visa should be created for foreign film-makers to facilitate their visits to the country, so that Indian places are promoted as global shooting locales. A committee may be formed which may look at aspects related to implementation of the proposal.
Officials also said that the ministry wants to ensure that all cities with 1 lakh and above population should have at least three FM channels, for which the base price during the upcoming auctions would be kept low.