| "This is a victory for a free mind and free business,"
Odugouder, president of the Karnataka Film Exhibitors Federation (KFEF)
from Hubli, told Indiantelevision.com. "We expect him
to do good for the entertainment industry. The entertainment industry
does not know any language or religion, it recognises only art. I'm
sure that he will do a lot of good for both the Kannada as well as
the non-Kannada film industry. Gangaraju's election marks the defeat
of vested interests that have recently been dogging the film industry
in Karnataka," he added.
Following the recent dramatic events that have taken place under
the aegis of the Karnataka Film Producers Association (KFPA) lead
by president Basant Kumar Patil, who was the other contender for
the post of the president of the KFCC, many people associated with
the film fraternity now expect some respite and maybe an end to
the impasse between the Kannada film fraternity and the film industry
in the rest of the country. The SIFCC coterie had announced embargoes
against the Kannada Film Industry, fraternity and technicians, against
Kannada Films.
KFEF has been the only body which put up a strong resistance to
the the government-sponsored Pandey committee, which implemented
a semi-official seven week moratorium on non-Kannada films from
the date their first release in their respective states, and a limit
of six prints to be screened in the entire state. This lead to a
forced closure of almost seventy theaters in Bangalore city alone.
The KFEF retaliated by refusing to exhibit Kannada films in the
northern districts of the state. Only the intervention of actor
turned politician Ambarish prevented the situation from turning
ugly with the KFPA threatening a star studded morcha in Hubli and
the Northern districts and that they would force theaters to screen
Omkara, a Kannada film released last week.
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