Conservation of films under NFHM to begin soon: Javadekar

Union minister Prakash Javadekar Sunday said the governmemt was committed to preserving the country's cinematic heritage, and the process of conservation of films under the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) would start soon.

He was speaking after taking a review of the NFHM at the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) here.

The NFHM is the Centre's mission for preservation, conservation, digitisation and restoration of the cinematic heritage of the country. The NFAI is the nodal organisation for the implementation of this project worth Rs 597.41 crore project.

"Every country preserves its history in arts, science and all aspects of life. Our mission is to restore the films of the world's largest film industry, as we have more than 1.32 lakh film reels and we have to preserve this heritage for the posterity," the Information and Broadcasting Minister said.

He added that all the stages of restoration mission are in progress.

"The assessment part is over and conservation will start soon and after conservation, digitisation will take place," he added.

Once the restoration process gets over with the help of the digital platform, the rich cinematic heritage will be available for the film lovers, he said.

Javadekar added that the NFAI will add new film preservation and conservation facilities as part of the NFHM.

"The FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) has given three acres of land to create a new vault here, so that the films will be stored here," he added.

He also added that the Jaykar Bungalow on the premises of the NFAI has been restored and will be inaugurated next month.

"The heritage mission work is very important for the government and the government is committed towards the preservation of the country's cinematic heritage. Things are moving in the right direction as far as the mission is concerned and we need to fast-track it," he said.

The minister said he would review the proposal of awarding the status of 'institute of national importance' to the FTII and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata.