President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that Indian cinema reflects the immense diversity of the nation, terming the art a 'national treasure'.
"Cinema has been an integral part of Indian culture and entertainment from the days of Dadasaheb Phalke's Raja Harish Chandra of 1913, the first film made in India. Indian cinema transcends national boundaries and is a powerful purveyor of ideas and values that impact the consciousness of millions of people. Our movies not only showcase the multicultural diversity of our country but are also a tribute to our linguistic richness. They are a national treasure and our country's 'soft power' in the true sense of the term, forging international ties and navigating global horizons with ease," President Mukherjee said, while presenting the 62nd National Film Awards at the national capital.
"Cinema in India crosses all boundaries of region, caste, creed and religion. It reflects the immense diversity of our nation which is home to different cultures, religions and languages. It shows the confluence of modernity and tradition as well as our ancient past and billion aspirations for the future. Digitization and the advent of modern technologies do not mean that we lose touch with the grass roots. Our content has to be our strength as it is entrenched deeply in our vibrant cultural milieu," he added.
Noting that the Indian film industry is the largest in the world, President Mukherjee expressed happiness that many of the recipients of the award were young personalities.
"The Indian film industry is today the largest film industry in the world in terms of number of movies being produced. With about 1600 films made every year, the film industry is today a force to reckon with, having a turnover of a magnitude of Rs. 102600 crores or USD 16.14 billion," he said.
"Today's Awards are testimony to the fact that Indian cinema continues to brim and overflow with amazing talent. I am told that this year yet again the youth have made their mark. The winner of the Best Film Award, Chaitanya Tamhane is only 27 years old. His film "Court" has already created waves in the International Film Festivals. I am also delighted that the winner of the Best Female Playback Singer this year is young Uthara, who is all of ten years old. The flowering of creativity amongst our youth holds tremendous promise for the future. It reassures us that we will continue to lead the world not just in number of films produced but also in the quality of our cinema and the top class talent in our industry," he added.
President Mukherjee further said that the government is taking several steps to promote cinema.
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"The Government of India is taking a number of steps for strengthening and promoting Indian cinema and the film industry. The government is planning to set up a National Centre of Excellence for Animation, Gaming, and Visual Effects. A National Film Heritage Mission is to be undertaken by the National Film Archives of India for conservation/preservation, restoration and digitization of films made in the country," he said.
"The government also proposes to set up a Film Facilitation Unit which will act as a facilitation point for filmmakers and production houses from foreign countries to enable them come to India and shoot their films in India. I am confident these measures will provide significant impetus to the growth of our film industry," he added.
President Mukherjee also urged filmmakers to celebrate and nurture universal human values.
"I urge the film industry to look beyond markets and work together to help nurture universal human values that draw on our rich civilizational heritage that celebrates diversity and nurtures inclusiveness. We might remember here the iconic Ritwik Ghatak, a great filmmaker famously said 'Cinema is no art for me. It is only a means to the end of serving my people'," he said.
The President also congratulated Shashi Kapoor, who was honoured with the 2015 Dadasaheb Phalke Award, thus becoming the third person from his family to win the award, after Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore were also present at the occasion.