Sri Lanka too is wooing Bollywood

Sri Lanka too is wooing Bollywood

AUGUST 28: Close on the heels of South Africa, Australia and British Columbia, Sri Lanka has arrived to woo Bollywood. Tissa Abeysekara, chairman of the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka, who is here to attend a four-day festival of Sri Lankan films, said that his Corporation was seeking India's help to achieve its objectives of establishing a total of 300 cinemas and buying equipment to renovate the existing 210 cinemas which are in a terrible condition. He would also like to elevate the film techniques of Sri Lankan movies by entering into co-production agreements with Indian film makers.

However, he averred, that Sri Lanka would like to show its films on the art film circuit and through film societes. But, unlike developed countries, Sri Lanka wants India's cooperation in the form of credit facilities for buying cinema equipments since it comes under the SAARC function.

According to Tissa, Sri Lanka Film Corporation has removed import restrictions, keeping itself of importing only artistic films and leaving the import of commercial films to the private entrepreneurs. It had imported God Mother, which was inaugurated by Shabana Azmi. It had also bought Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for $25,000 and has recovered its cost. It has also imported two Tamil films, two Malayalam films and one Kannada film. "Technically there is not import restrictions for films but nominal approval of NFC is needed in accordance with the censorship laws, Abeysekara said and added, " many Hollywood films and Indian films are now being shown after we lifted restrictions and they are doing very well. I must admit Sri Lankan films were poor in quality and quantity. It made hardly 20 films a year. Apart from the domestic market, which has been reduced after we have lost Northern area, Sinhala films are mainly exported to Middle East and Canada where there is a sizeable population. We have no studio though we haveearmarked 600 acres of land for film shooting purposes where studio can be built. Considering its low production and Sinhala film makers shooting on actual locations, we have no laboratory facilities since we have entered into contract with Prasad Laboratory in Chennai," he added.