local Nagpuri film artistes are finding it hard to make recognition in their native State due to lack of unity among their own circle and Government’s negligence. The artistes who were once willing to make a career in this field are either earning their livelihood by collaborating with Bollywood fraternity or working as part-timers in Doordarshan based television serials.
“In the recent years, Nagpuri films which were on demand a decade back have failed to create a special place within the denizens of Jharkhand. There are no local studios and adequate editing facilities. Producers do not invest for these films because of least profit,” Shailja Bala, a female artist who used to act in Nagpuri films from 1991 to 2000 said.
Sound Engineer Tej Mundu and Jollywood website owner Sushil Ankan focused on the revenue loss dealt by Directors and Actors who dare to work in nagpuri films. “Till 2012, local film makers used to make films on Nagpuri language out of craze but the quality was never upto the mark. Managing funds is the basic hurdle,” said Mundu.
Ankan on the other side blamed on the technical reasons for Nagpuri Films not being promoted in Jharkhand. He said, “It is important to have a Film Development Corporation in a state. Also, a film city is required within the State. Two years ago, Arjun Munda Government had declared to set up a Film City near Patratu-Pithoria road. IPRD had even prepared the DPR but then nothing happened. Film makers from metropolitans like Mumbai and Kolkata come and shoot their movies in our state without any charge. Unless, Government does not makes it mandatory to preserve the local film industry in financial terms we cannot hope of a better future for nagpuri film artistes.”
Supporting Ankan, Film Maker Vinod Kumar and Artist Ranjeet Sinha stressed on the need of “unity” among the artistes of all the tribal languages so that the local film industry can flourish easily.
“Majority of nagpuri artistes having the knack to act have settled in Bollywood or are making films with B-town celebrities. It is obvious as there are rare opportunities here,” Kumar pointed out.
Meanwhile, Sriram Dalton, a Jharkhand Director who bagged Rajat Kamal in the 61st National Film Award for his Hindi feature film ‘Behrupiya’ felt that language is not at all a barrier to showcase the culture of a State.
The arguments seemed unimportant for State Art, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs officers. “Our job is to look after the short films specifically documentary ones not the feature films. We are not authorized to promote Jollywood,” the department’s Assistant Director (Culture) Vijay Paswan said.