On Thursday two of the biggest names in Indian cinema, and a galaxy of stars and politicians, were in Goa, sharing the same stage. The festival could not have done better than with Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikant as the guests. In the past too the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has been able to draw some of the stars to the State. Ben Kingsley, Dev Anand, Susan Sarandon, Shah Rukh Khan are just some of the many who have walked the festival’s red carpet in Goa.
But, the International Film Festival of India should not be just about big names coming to Goa and about film buffs boasting of watching 30 or more movies per festival. The state has to earn some tangible benefits in return for hosting the festival. Goa pours in approximately Rs 10 crore annually in this festival and most of the money is spent in flying down and hosting the big names of the silver screen. As direct benefits from the festival it gets few returns, just the income from delegate fees that doesn’t cover even 1 percent of the expenses. The economic benefits percolate into the system through the earnings of the ancillary services like hotels, restaurants and shopping.
A reason why IFFI may not have given Goa any great reciprocal benefits is the very political nature that the hosting of the festival has taken. The festival is owned neither by any political party nor by the government of the day. The festival is owned by India and Goa is the vehicle to take it forward. It is unfortunate that successive governments, in the year they are in power, have focused all their energies in making that particular festival a success. No government has attempted to look at the festival on a broader canvass as to its potential benefits to the State.
The first few sentences of Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, in his very short address at the opening ceremony, were that IFFI came to Goa during the ‘BJP rule’ and that this year again ‘during the BJP regime’ Goa has been declared the permanent venue of the film festival. He was followed by former Chief Minister and current Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar speaking on similar lines.
This is not what an international audience wants to hear from the Chief Minister of the host State. It does not matter to them which government is in power and which party has done what for the festival. They have been invited here because they are professionals, successful professionals, in their own countries. This showing up of a political rival at IFFI has to stop. It does not behove a state like Goa to have it politicians taking credit for the organization of a festival at its opening ceremony. It can be done, if really necessary, within the closed corridors of the State and not on an international state. They should perhaps take a lesson from Union Information and Broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley who orated longer but spoke not a single political word.
It is time to leverage IFFI to benefit Goa economically. The festival must be turned into a high-profile marketing tool for Goa tourism, it should be looked upon as a chance to showcase Goa to the world. The State was selected as the festival venue mainly because of its international appeal. Earlier this year, then Information and Broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar, announcing that the State had been selected as the permanent venue for IFFI, had said that the festival is a Goa product and that all Goa products have been a success. If in the past ten years Goa has been able to make IFFI a success, and if IFFI gains from its location, the host too should be adequately rewarded. Goa has been depending on its beaches and World Heritage Churches to keep its tourism industry afloat. If IFFI in to stay in Goa, then here is an opportunity to add another attraction to the tourist itinerary.
The festival in Goa has a positively enchanting setting – a modern multiplex in the courtyard of a heritage building, with an old palace tucked away in the corner and a mere five minute walk along the riverside the sprawling Kala Academy with the River Mandovi flowing lazily by. Few locations can rival this setting, yet a decade after the festival moved to Goa, IFFI has not been able to complement Goa’s beach tourism. The government must explore the possibility of how this locale can be sold to international tourist markets, because film festivals need not just bring delegates, but can also bring tourists who would like to be part of the festival, even if from the fringes. That would be a start, a point from where to then go forward.
