National Film Development Corporation Limited (NFDC) has renowned actor Om Puri as their new Chairman

Media News

Mumbai, April 23, 2008

The Government of India has appointed the very talented and eminent film actor Om Puri as their new Chairman. The actor assumed his new role from 4th April’08 onwards for a period of 3 years. Om Puri’s association with NFDC dates back to the 1980’s, he has acted in memorable roles in many of the films produced / financed by NFDC including Ardh Satya, Jaane Bhi Do Yaron, Mirch Masala, Dharavi, Bhavani Bhavai, Current, among others.

Earlier, Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs, Dadasaheb Phalke awardee and renowned film director Hrishikesh Mukherjee & Bollywood’s ‘Dream Girl’ Hema Malini had also served as chairman of NFDC.

Commenting on his appointment Om Puri said “NFDC has played a prominent and a pivotal role in moulding my career as an actor. My association with NFDC dates back to the early 80s and it’s these films that have helped me establish as an all rounded actor. NFDC has now bestowed me with this golden responsibility & opportunity to promote Cinemas of India and help in the development of the Indian film Industry on a global platform”.

Talking about his plans Om Puri stated that he will encourage and promote young film makers who have the potential of making a good film which is rich in content. NFDC will recognize young talent with interesting projects and help them produce films. He also wants to promote various workshops like the Script Writing and Screen Play workshops as deserving talent can be tapped in such workshops.

In his role as the new chairperson Om Puri will strategically scout for new talents in all departments of film making, he will personally go through a lot of scripts and explore various opportunities for production & co production of films for NFDC. Under his tenure Om Puri plans to introduce an effective concept called “Cooperatives”. In this model if the script or the film demands established and famous actors, a unanimous arrangement will be reached between NFDC as a production house and the cast & crew of a particular film, wherein after deciding on the script nfdc will approach them with an offer to work in the film on a subsidized fee.

If the film becomes a success in the box office the profit garnered will be shared between all the personnel’s associated with the project on their actual cost basis. The idea behind this concept is to give boost to film makers with experiential & viable scripts but limited budgets. This proposal will help procuring prominent talents for small budget films.

Talking about his role as the chairperson Om Puri mentions, “I will be the link between the real world of film makers and NFDC and its policies. I will check the viability and compatibility of the projects undertaken by NFDC. Also, marketing plays an important role, so we will also see to it that our films use contemporary & tailor-made marketing strategies to make them reach to all our discerning audiences all over the country.

Speaking on the occasion Ms Nina Lath Gupta, Managing Director, NFDC said “Mr. Om Puri has been associated with NFDC for a very long time as an actor, working in some path breaking films from the production house. He is synonymous with what NFDC stands for, his loyalty and dedication towards meaningful cinema is what makes him the right person to chair this agency & drive it to its exponential growth. Omji has always been emphatic in his support for significant & parallel cinema. We are very happy to have him lead & direct us in our new endeavors.

Introduces “Cooperatives”: a new model for upcoming talented filmmakers, Lucky Red Seeds, White Elephant & Via Darjeeling in 2008 with other projects in various stages of production and releasing Bioscope as a solo production film from the NFDC stable in the year 2008.

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