Shillong: Say no to piracy urged Meghalaya Chief Minister, Mukul Sangma. He was addressing the audience at the start of the screening of the national award winning film, ‘Ri- Homeland of Uncertainty,’ at the U Soso Tham auditorium on Monday.
“Piracy is destroying the backbone of the entertainment industry and those of us who call ourselves music lovers or enjoy watching films should spread the message far and wide, Dr Sangma said.
Felicitating the director of ‘Ri’ which won the Rajat Kamal award recently, Dr Mukul Sangma announced an amount of Rs 10 lakhs from the State Government as a special assistance fund.
Speaking of film makers who started with enthusiasm but slowly faded away due to lack of support and because they don’t get any returns from their films, Dr Sangma said there should be entrepreneurs who would invest in entertainment centres or cinema halls in all the district headquarters and sub-divisions and multiplexes in Shillong.
“We need time to chill out and what better way to do that than to watch a good movie,” Dr Sangma said, adding that the Government would pitch in with assistance.
Stating that film makers like Kurbah who have persisted with film making despite all odds require state intervention by way of waiver of entertainment tax so that they get back some of the investment made and the Government is keen to facilitate that.
Dr Sangma said he had watched ‘Ri’ when it was screened earlier at the Raj Bhavan. He applauded the directorial proficiency of Pradip Kurbah and congratulated the entire team for their professionalism.