Prahlad Kakkar and state join hands to train Bollywood technicians

Adman Prahlad Kakkar will be at the forefront of an initiative to provide training to technicians in Bollywood. As part of a skills development programme undertaken by the state government, Mr Kakkar will impart his vast knowledge to youth in the film industry.

State officials said that the skills development (SD) department has decided to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mr Kakkar in this regard. Under this scheme, the Prahlad Kakkar School of Branding and Entrepreneurship — recently launched in association with Whistling Woods International, a media and communications institute set up by filmmaker Subhash Ghai — will issue diplomas to candidates who pass the course with flying colours. State officials have even held a series of meetings with Mr Kakkar to this effect. The decision to ink the MoU will be taken in the meeting scheduled on August 29. Several technicians in the film industry — including cameramen, makeup men, light men, sound recordists, video editors, crane operators, set designers, etc — are from the unorganised sector and work on a daily-contract basis.

Deepak Kapoor, principal secretary, SD department, said, “The basic purpose of this initiative is to provide employment to these technicians, who are not formally trained. Training with Mr Kakkar will allow them to build a portfolio, which they can use to find a job in the industry. It will surely improve their income levels. We hope to train about 2,000 technicians in a year.”

Speaking to The Asian Age, Mr Kakkar said, “A lot of technicians in the film industry do not have formal training. There is also no establishment in the country to offer training to these people. The state government’s skills development programme will help them get training in an organised way.”

He added: “We will be giving candidates six months’ crash training at our institute and at Whistling Woods on various disciplines. During the course, the candidates will be trained on how to handle various equipment such as cameras, cranes, lights and so on. There is a great demand for these jobs in the film industry,” he added.

As per the scheme, the state government has also asked Mr Kakkar to provide jobs to trained candidates. “We are in talks with several reputed production houses about giving employment to these youths. They are willing to support us,” said the ad filmmaker.