68th National Film Awards: Union minister Anurag Thakur on rise of OTT

New Delhi [India], September 30 (ANI): As the 68th National Film Awards were presented on Friday by President Droupadi Murmu, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur during the event spoke about various aspects of cinema along with the rise of OTT platforms.

Watch the Bengali movie Uttwaraan online on ZEE5.
During the National Film Awards presented at the Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi, Thakur started his speech by saying, “I have long held the belief that cinema is the poetry in pictures, mirroring the magic, marvel and madness of all that which makes us feel alive and human. Debutants professionals and legends from the Indian film industry have tickled and touched our hearts and minds for over a century. Cinema has captured and carved the consciousness, community and culture of our economy and country.”
He then spoke about how during the pandemic time various OTT platforms saw growth in the number of their viewers, “As time and again cinema has proved to be the universal language that unites us. Today cinema has crossed the boundaries of theatres and reaches the comfort of our homes and mobile phones with the advent of OTT and during the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen how the OTT platforms have emerged and how their numbers have grown.”
Thakur added, “Today’s awards remind us how the Indian cinema is brimming and blossoming with brilliance and talent. I can see how this year yet again the awards bring out the regional strength of the country and I said earlier that from regional to national to international when the Prime Minster talks about from ‘Local to Global’ I think cinema has done it time and again.”
This year, there were 50 categories with over 300 feature films and 150 non-feature films competing for the prizes. There were 30 different languages in the movies.
Led by director-producer Vipul Shah, a 10-member jury, comprising eminent filmmakers and film personalities from across Indian cinema announced the awards back in July 2022.
Apart from chairperson Shah, the jury members included cinematographer Dharam Gulati, National Award-winning Bengali actor Sreelekha Mukherjee, cinematographer GS Bhaskar, A Karthikraaja, VN Aditya, Viji Thampi, Sanjeev Rattan, S Thangadurai and Nishigandha. (ANI)