SOUTH
The Karnataka Film Policy Committee, under the joint leadership of Rajendra Singh Babu, president, Film Academy and SR Govindu, chairperson of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), submitted ten major recommendations to 'strengthen' the Kannada film industry, known as Sandalwood., to chief minister Siddaramaiah.
Recommendations included the fixing of Multiplex ticket prices for Kannada movies at ₹120, a monetary assistance of ₹50 lakh for the construction of each Janata cinema theatre and an annual film awards ceremony on the birthday of veteran actor Dr Rajkumar.
While emphasising an increase in financial assistance to high-quality films, the committee asked for ₹20-25 lakh cash awards for National Film Award winning films.
Films that have won State Film Awards or judged to have superior plots or those based on novels should also be provided with ₹20 lakh in monetary assistance, while those films deemed to be above-average should get ₹15 lakh as monetary grants, the committee recommended.
The committee, comprising 13 members in total, visited Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal before preparing its comprehensive report.
On receiving the report, the chief minister assured that the Karnataka Government was totally committed to implementing the committee's recommendations.
Key recommendations: