CFSI plans to raise funds from abroad

Children's Film Society of India (CFSI) will source funds with private participation from producers' from foreign countries like Iran, Singapore and others.

Talking to Business Standard, Nafisa Ali Sodhi, chairperson of CFSI said, "We aim to go for co-production and joint venture with other countries and private producers for producing hi-tech children films."

"Producing big budget films can be done by partial fund from us and partial funding by private participation," said Sodhi.

Recently a week-long children's film festival kick started at Vadodara, jointly held by CFSI and the district administration.

The festival was organised in six districts including Vadodara, Kheda, Panchmahals, Patan, Sabarkanta and Mehsana.

She said, "We are leaving no stones unturned to market children cinema internationally by upgrading the packaging for better presentation at global platform."

However, she emphasised on the need of the hour that Indian children cinema must upgrade itself for commercial viability at international as well as national level.

"We want quality films," she stated.

She said that in India 50 per cent of the Indian population is below the age group of 15 years hence India has a bright future.

The recent success of animation and other children's films has shown that it has great potentiality, she added.

However she urged that the conservative approach regarding the children film production of CFSI is an eyesore and needs to change.

Referring to the recent super-hit animation film, 'Hanuman' that is making waves amongst the children she said for CFSI films of such large scale needs calls for huge budget, which is not possible with the kind of funds provided to them by the government.

Currently CFSI gets a meagre sum of Rs 2.5 crore which leads to compromise in the technical quality of the film.

"While the 'Hanuman' film has been produced with a budget of Rs 11.5 crore we produce films in lakhs," informed Sodhi.

The highest budget film produced by CFSI is 'Punkaj' for Rs 80 lakhs.

"If we get the kind of funds required to produce such hi-tech films we will certainly do it," said Sodhi.

"We have requested the government to provide us Rs 8 crores and more annually for film production," said Sodhi.

She further said that the government has agreed in principal to provide the fund.

However she relented about the bureaucratic obstacles in the process.

The CFSI has undertaken three new film projects namely Aak me Choli (hide and seek), Photo the Film maker and Mahek (fragrance).