Panaji, Nov 21 (IANS): Emphasising that it was possible today to take good regional content to national and international audiences, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said on Sunday: "If you are creating the right content, then that is not restricted only to the regional language. It becomes national and international soon."

Addressing a gathering of filmmakers and film aficionados after inaugurating the Indian Panorama section at the 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Thakur sought suggestions from the assembled dignitaries on ways to facilitate the promotion of the film industry. He also urged the participants to come forward with suggestions on how to take IFFI to greater heights.

"Content is the king. We have to work hard to create the best. We are the world's largest film producer, but at the same time, how many films of ours are acknowledged at the international level?" the minister asked.

Stating that India had the talent, technology and skilled manpower, all of which were not expensive, he said the country could offer the world a platform to come and shoot their films here. He also reiterated his idea of India being a post-production hub during his speech.

Pointing out that animation, visuals and graphics, all played a very important role today, the minister said that with technology, one could showcase something which was not imaginable a few years back.

"We have seen in the past that only actors, singers and lyricists would get cinema awards," Thakur said. "In the past few years, at the National Film Awards, we have been honouring technicians. I think it is very important that people who play a larger role behind the screen should be honoured on different platforms and we'll try and do that in the coming years," Thakur said.

Stating that there was no reason for IFFI to fall behind other film festivals, the minister said some changes had been made in its format this year. "I had only a couple of months to work on that," he said, and informed the gathering that he had brought on board a new producer and broadcaster, and also got stars in this brief duration.

"Getting stars during the Covid-19 pandemic wasn't easy, but still, we got one of the topmost film stars of Indian cinema to perform at the opening ceremony. We'll do our best in the coming years as well," he said.