Cultural Affairs Minister A.K. Balan on Monday rolled out his plans to develop the film industry by mooting a series of proposals that he claimed was intended to save it from its current crisis.
The proposals he presented in the Assembly, while replying to the debate on the demands for grants for his department, included a project for establishing cultural complexes in all the 14 districts at a cost of ₹40 crore.
He said the government had already identified land in seven districts. The Malayalam film industry was in a crisis, with the number of cinema houses coming down from 1,060 ten years ago to 550 at present.
Several rural cinema houses had to close shop depriving people of the main source of entertainment. It was in this context that the Kerala State Film Development Corporation was planning to establish 100 theatres.
The Minister said the government would bring in a legislation to establish a cinema regulatory authority. It would also promote touring talkies that would cover areas that did not have theatres, including the tribal belts. Thalassery would be the venue for the presentation of the State film awards.
The government would establish a Kerala cultural council, besides implementing a diamond jubilee fellowship programme for performing arts, with a sum of ₹13 crore as allocation.
