Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan inaugurated the India Pavilion at Cannes at Marché du Film in presence of Jawed Ashraf, Ambassador of India to France, Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary, MIB and stars of the Indian film industry.
Addressing a gathering of delegates from India including film stars and officials, Dr Murugan stated that today India is the world’s largest producer of films with over 3000 films in over 50 languages. These films carry a message of India’s strength in storytelling across the world.
Citing the example of the now famed Elephant Whisperers of Mudumalai, the Minister highlighted that today good content knows no boundaries and we are witnessing an era where Indian content is going local to global.
Dr Murugan recalled the recent stellar success of Indian movies and movie makers at world stage and added that today it’s difficult to find a movie without an Indian name in its credits for animation or VFX. He further said that Indian film industry has undergone significant changes in recent years with advent of newer technologies and rise of digital and streaming platforms.
He stated that Indian Media and Entertainment sector is poised to experience an extraordinary growth rate of 11.4% in 2023, propelling its revenue to a staggering INR 2.36 trillion. This remarkable surge is a testament to the robustness of India’s M&E industry and its potential to create novel opportunities, even in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
He further added that after the Covid pandemic, the gross box office revenues of 2022 in India, have increased almost three times the revenues of 2021 to 1.3 billion USD, and expected to touch 3 billion USD by 2025.
Dr Murugan pitched India as an attractive movie destination for foreign films and said that the Government is committed to develop India as a magnet for international movie industry including shooting, co-production, animation and low-cost post-production.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur addressing the gathering through a video message. In his message, the Minister remarked that ‘Festival de Cannes’ has played an instrumental role in not just promoting our cinematic excellence but also strengthening the Indo-French relations.
He said that with 3 films shortlisted in 3 distinct categories and 2 of them bringing home Oscars – the world has just scratched the surface of the creativity, content and technical capabilities of the Indian Film Industry. With powerful narratives, high-end skill-based content curation and post-production capabilities and co-production treaties with 16 countries, India has emerged as an attractive destination for filmmakers worldwide, he added.
