by
User Not Found | Jul 25, 2016
On the invitation of the Consulate General of Russia, Mr. Yash Chopra was honoured to receive the President of Russia, H.E. Dmitry A. Medvedev, on behalf of the Film & TV Producers Guild of India, at Yash Raj Studios on Wednesday evening.
The reception at Yash Raj Studios was hosted to further strengthen the ties of the two countries with special emphasis on promoting cultural exchanges between Russia and India and for the President to get an opportunity to directly meet with the members of our film industry. Indian Films have indeed been very popular with Russian audiences for over 60 years since the time of the immortal Raj Kapoor and this fond memory helped to get the meeting off to a very cordial beginning and set the mood for what followed.
Mr. Chopra, speaking on the occasion said, "We are honoured to have the President of Russia, H.E. Medvedev, who took time off during his very short visit to India, to come visit us. Speaking on behalf of all of us present here and particularly the film fraternity, I am confident that this visit will most certainly help us to build on our already strong cultural and emotional relationship that has existed over many years. With this as our heritage, we should be looking at doing things collectively going forward."
President Dmitry Medvedev was very happy that he was able to spend some time at the Studio and meet with the members of the Film Producers Guild of India and others. He said that his association and love for Indian films started way back in 1970 with Raj Kapoor's Shree 420, a popular and iconic film in Russia. He also said that cinemas are a common language and that he looked forward to receiving good proposals from the Indian Film Industry.
At the round-table conference, Mr. Ramesh Sippy, President, Film & TV Producers Guild of India, while welcoming President Medvedev also expressed a desire to take this relationship forward while still retaining our individual and meaningful cultures. He also hoped for better understanding while entering into co-productions.
Mr. Mukesh Bhatt, Vice President of the Film & TV Producers Guild of India, requested the Russian President to help create a single window platform to facilitate cooperation between the two countries to benefit both in the production and distribution of films.
Mr. Amit Khanna also requested that procedures for doing business with Russia be streamlined and simplified.
Mr. Randhir Kapoor, who spoke about the popularity of his father's films in Russia, mentioned that we too should look at showcasing Russian films here which would help the love grow between the two countries.
During his visit to the YRF Studio, Mr. Yash Chopra also invited the President to visit the sets where he met Mr. Shahrukh Khan and Ms Kareena Kapoor and had an opportunity to see some of the rehearsals that were going on. This was a special occasion for the President, being the first time that he was on the sets of an Indian film shoot. Mr. Shahrukh Khan said that there is a great diversity of Russian and Indian culture which can be mutually drawn upon. He suggested that we should go there to learn the ballet and Russia should come here to learn the bhangra!
Also present at the function, amongst other dignitaries, was the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to India, Mr. Alexander M. Kadakin and other leading luminaries from the Indian Film industry including Mr. Rakesh Roshan, Mr. Manmohan Shetty, Mr. Puneet Goenka, Mr. Anil Arjun and Mr. Nitin Desai, amongst others.
GUILD - Enhancing the value of Cinematic Arts- The Film & Television Producers Guild of India Limited is an autonomous non-profit premier film trade body comprising of industry stakeholders, is to be a principal negotiator with the Government on various critical issues, resolving intra and external trade disputes of the industry, liaising with foreign delegations to provide international exposure for its members, arranging conclaves for the benefit of members. Established in 1954 by the stalwarts of the Indian film industry including B.N. Sircar, S. Mukherjee, The Film & TV Producers Guild is today the most progressive body in show business. From renowned film makers/production houses like Yash Chopra, Ramesh Sippy, Mukesh Bhatt, Subhash Ghai, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rakesh Roshan, AB Corp, Prakash Jha, Eros entertainment, Shree Ashtavinayak, Excel Entertainment ; to the young brigade of Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, Ashutosh Gowariker, Farhan Akhtar, Kunal Kohli, Rohan Sippy etc.to stars turned producers like Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Akkineni Nagarjuna Rao; to new diversified media companies like UTV, Reliance Entertainment, Balaji telefilms, PVR, Viacom 18, Zee, Sahara,; to the film makers of international stature from the East and South such as Mrinal Sen, Goutam Ghose, D. Suresh Babu, etc., to leading TV production houses like Star TV, Zee TV, Colors, Sony TV, TV Today, NDTV, BAG Films & Media Ltd. - all are symbols of the Indian filmed content. Over the years, the Guild has also been instrumental in organizing fund raisers such as Help Telethon Concert in aid of tsunami victims and seminars & conventions with influential trade bodies like FICCI and CII. Also, the Guild has instituted the Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards for excellence in film and television – an award by the industry, for the industry and of the industry.
