Crossover films should have national appeal

According to a delegate at the 34th International Film Festival of India in New Delhi, films like 3 Deewarein and Jhankaar Beats are about people who deal with everyday issues and problems.

They have given Bollywood a new face and the erstwhile 'meaningful' or 'art' movies have now transformed into these new issue-based films targeted at a specific audience, said actor Sanjay Suri. Actor Manoj Bajpai added, "As an actor, it gives me great pleasure to act in such movies as they give me a lot of creative satisfaction."

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National Film Development Corporation of India chairperson D Mukhopadhaya feels it is a myth that multiplexes have encouraged such films. "Most of these multiplex theatres either have a five-year tax holiday, like in Maharashtra, or get some tax rebates," he says.

Suri says once these sops end, maybe theatres will run like department stores. "Small budget crossover films, which do well both in urban and rural India, are yet to arrive. That means such films are restricted to only metropolises and cities," he says.

"The need of the hour is to build small theatres with a seating capacity of 250-300 people. With a little help from the government, we can get the desired audience," adds Mukhopadhyay.