TV channels are ignoring documentaries: Jahnu Barua

PANAJI - Well-known filmmaker Jahnu Barua rues that despite more than 400 television channels in the country no one sees documentaries as a viable proposition.

“Foreigners are more interested in Indian short films than our own people,” said Barua, who is the president of the Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA). He was addressing media at an interaction session at the ongoing 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here Thursday.

Barua said the IDPA was in talks with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to start a separate channel to showcase short films.

“We were in talks with Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, former minister for Information & Broadcasting who had liked the idea. But his illness and the subsequent set-up in the ministry delayed the plan,” he said.

Ramesh Tekwani, Vice president of the IDPA who was also present on the occasion, said that the IDPA is trying to resume the screening of documentaries in movie halls.

“Films division of India used to screen their documentaries before the feature films in cinema halls, but this practice was discontinued. We are talking to cinema hall owners to restart the trend,” he said.

Tekwani also said that the IDPA is planning to start a Friday club at the Films Division of India (FDI) premises in Mumbai to provide a platform to short and documentary filmmakers to show their work to their peers.