Lights, Camera, Action from Manipur This Election Season

What does the Manipuri film industry want this election season?

The demands of the Manipuri film industry in this election (Photo: The Quint)

Will the action stop in the Manipuri film industry? This is one question that is bothering everyone in the film industry in Manipur this election season.

The People’s Liberation Army has banned Hindi films in Manipur since 2002 which resulted in a spurt of regional Manipuri films immediately after the ban.

A local cinema hall in Imphal showing a Manipuri film (Photo: The Quint)

Even though the industry is currently valued at Rs 10 crore with an average of 60 films releasing every year, it is struggling for its survival. The main reason behind it is there aren’t enough theatres to screen the films, and hence there’s lesser revenue to earn. There are just 85 cinema halls across the state at present. Two years ago, there were 110. Even in Imphal, only two theatres have survived.

An empty ticket counter at a cinema hall in Imphal (Photo: The Quint)

Demonetsation and the economic blockade have struck a dual blow to the commercial films. The shootings were stalled, and for almost 40 days, things came to a complete standstill.

A vendor selling DVDs of Manipuri films in Imphal (Photo: The Quint)

This election season, the actors and technicians only have one demand from the state Government – they want the government to set up a film city and subsidise the industry. This will result in better cash flow as banks may issue loans to make films.

Cameraman: Tridip K Mandal

Multimedia Producer: Puneet Bhatia