Priyadarshan displeased with state of cinema

One of the country’s most prolific and continually successful filmmakers Priyadarshan is currently in Goa heading the jury for the 50th International Film Festival Of India (IFFI).

Priyan, as he is affectionately known, is not happy with what he has seen in Goa. “My jury and I saw 314 films. Out of these, only 20 were outright brilliant. The others ranged from mediocre to downright unimpressive. So I would say I am not pleased with the content,” he shares.

The filmmaker has an explanation for the falling standards of our cinema as well. “Nowadays, anyone can become a filmmaker. Anyone who has access to a camera can shoot a film. In our times, when I started as a filmmaker, it was very big thing to get behind the camera. One had to work hard to earn that privilege. One had to train for years before being considered fit to be a director,” he recalls.

Priyan feels the lack of preparedness is taking its toll on the quality of Indian films. “Nowadays, one needs no qualification to be a filmmaker or a film critic. The end-results speak for themselves. Out of the 314 films I’ve seen in Goa, the 20 films I found brilliant were made by trained filmmakers. I think that says it all,” he concludes.