Thiruvananthapuram, March 23 (Agency) The government is trying to erase the nation’s cultural history by politicising the film archives, film critic Premendra Mazumder said on Wednesday. Attending the ‘PK Nair Memorial Seminar’ at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK 2022) here, Mazumder said, What was once the archive of the people is now in the hands of corporate gods,” he added. The seminar was a platform for critics and delegates to interact on the pressing issue of the destruction and politicisation of the movie archives.
The session which was inaugurated by esteemed film maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, focused on the fragile life of the film archives and how it was on the verge of being eradicated. The National Award-winning film critic, Rashmi Doraiswamy, added that India had a strong and healthy film culture, with a history of organisingfilm festivals as early as in the 1950s. This was now being eroded, with corporate giants taking over its reins. This was leading to the centralisation of powers and the interference of government in cultural activities. The panel included film scholar Amrit Gangar and film critic CS Venkiteswaran, among others. It was moderated by film critic, Namrata Joshi.