Tannishtha Chatterjee feels Indian films still have a long way to go when it comes to getting recognition in the international arena. The actress, known for her role in ‘Brick Lane’, points out that the focus is not on the right kind of cinema or actors in the country. Producer Sheetal Talwar, who produced ‘Dharm’, has gone on record to say Bollywood representation in the Cannes International Film Festival is of no relevance.
Tannishtha: “I think what Sheetal says is to some extent true. However, it is not entirely true. This year ‘Miss Lovely’ was in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. And even ‘The Gangs Of Wasseypur’ is in the Directors’ Fortnight.” “Having said that, I’d say we haven’t had another Satyajit Ray making a global impact so many years after Ray. We make a 800 films a year. But we’re nowhere globally. Iran produces 25 films per year and their films get noticed everywhere.”
Tannishtha feels Indian films don’t get noticed. “That’s because we promote the wrong films, filmmakers and actors in India. Personally, if I was not recognized in ‘Shadows Of Time’ and ‘Brick Lane’ in the West, no one would have noticed me at home,” said the actress who has finished filming Ravi Kumar’s ‘Bhopal: Prayer for Rain’, in which she will be seen with Martin Sheen.”