New Delhi: On the occasion of Doordarshan completing 50 years of existence, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni on Tuesday invited talented artistes to come back to the public broadcaster to make their valuable contribution to the efforts to make it more vibrant.
She was speaking at a function organised by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), a Delhi based NGO which has made several award winning films and serials and with whom Doordarshan had long partnership.
The Minister invited stalwarts like Shyam Benegal (a PSBT Trustee), who had made the memorable serial Bharat ek khoj for Doordarshan, to contribute meaningfully to Doordarshan again.
She said suggestions were welcome from the luminaries of PSBT trustees for improving quality of Doordarshan programme and for making them more interesting while retaining its commitment for healthy entertainment suitable for family viewing.
She re-emphasised that her Ministry would continue to strive to encourage creative skills so long as they honour the sensibilities of all single television viewing families.
The Minister exhorted the young filmmakers, particularly those who were the beneficiaries of the PSBT-Ministry fellowships, to take up the challenge of making relevant programmes, particularly for the marginalized strata of society.
She sought to remind the gathering that Doordarshan was the only channel with the widest terrestrial reach which caters to the remotest and border areas often neglected by the commercial interests of other channels.
Ms Soni also reiterated her Ministry's renewed commitment of financial support to PSBT.
The Films Division would grant funds to PSBT, which has been short-listed for production of documentaries for the current financial year. The grant will be given under the Plan scheme component for production of documentaries through NGOs, she said.
In the past also, the Doordarshan and PSBT have had a successful public-private partnership. Over the past nine years a large number of documentary films have been funded by Doordarshan. Among the National Non-Feature Film Awards 2007, at least four of such joint productions of Prasar Bharati and PSBT have won accolades.
Adoor Gopalkrishnan (Chairman PSBT)'s new film Oru Pennum Randaanum, funded by Doordarshan, was screened at the function organised last evening.
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