Public disinterest in documentaries: DD blamed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Actor and documentary filmmaker Suhasini Muloy bitterly held Doordarshan and Films Division responsible for the languishing public interest in documentaries. ‘’The documentaries they produced were too distant from the public. They were so intent on whitewashing the administrative regimes that they lost their motive in producing documentaries,’’ the veteran actress put it with an obvious distaste at the press meet held here on the sidelines of the ongoing fourth edition of the International Short Film and Documentary Film Festival on Monday.  ‘’If you are searching for reasons as to why people don’t want to watch documentaries, it is Doordarshan and Films Division. People used to run out of theatres when the documentaries produced by Films Division were screened before the film. They just tuned the public out of documentaries and what they have done is a grievous damage,’’ she said.  However, Suhasini expressed her relief at the sight of people eagerly awaiting their turn for watching documentaries at the current edition of the short film and documentary film festival. ‘’Kerala seems to have a discerning audience. It is heartening to see people lining up to watch documentaries here.’’Suhasini, who has worked as a director and as an actor, said that it was the want of money that made her into an actor. ‘’At the age of 40, I had just Rs 4,000 in my bank account. My films as a director had given me only fame. As an actor I got money also. But documentaries have always given me that feel of satisfaction,’’ she said. When asked about her experience as an assistant director of Satyajit Ray, she said that Ray was a man of great discipline. ‘’He was incredibly disciplined. Before he went on the floor for shooting he would have drawn every single shot and frame. I still follow the practice though I am pathetic in drawing.’’  C Rahim, the director of the documentary ‘Frogmouth’, said that there is a noticeable lack of wildlife documentaries. ‘’My film is about a bird that has become extinct. Frogmouth is something that can hardly be called a bird by its proportions. The only trace of its existence is its feathers which were found in the 19th century,’’ he said.