Assam State Film (Finance & Development) Corporation chairperson Bobbeeta Sharma in Guwahati. Picture by UB Photos

Guwahati, Nov. 26: The Assam State Film (Finance & Development) Corporation is working on long-term measures to get returns it has invested to make Assamese films.

The measures include selling its movies online for a global audience, pushing them for various national and international film festivals and satellite channels outside the state.

Officials of the corporation today said Baandhon, its first produced film directed by filmmaker Jahnu Barua, which has been made available for online market, has received good response.

“Getting returns for a film is a long-term process. In spite of collection from cinema halls there are other measures of earning from a film like selling them online. Our production Baandhon is already available on the online market. We are communicating withpeople or agencies to make our other movies available for online customers,” said Bobbeeta Sharma, the chairperson of the corporation.

“We are also exploring possibilities on how to sell them for satellite channels from outside the state that are keen to buy these films with subtitles. Besides, if a film is screened in a film festival it earns some money,” Sharma said.

Baandhon, Raag, Srinkhal and Paani — four films produced by the corporation have already hit the screens, TRP Aru... will be released on Friday and another, Xat Nomboror Xondhanot, directed by Abdul Majid, is on the final stage.

Sharma said TRP Aru..., based on the trafficking of women and to be released in 18 halls across the state, is the latest production of the corporation made in 35mm film. Considering high production cost involved in 35mm film, the corporation has decided to switch over to digital format.

In 2010, the corporation began making films on the basis of public-private partnership whereby it bears 60 per cent of the production costs of a film.

Bobbeeta said more and more directors are coming forward to make films with them. “This time we sought scripts for three films to be made under PPP mode and we received 28 scripts,” she said.

The corporation decided to make film to help the Assamese film industry come out of its depression. During the past two/three years, a good number of films have hit the screen.

Bringing more cheer to the industry, the state government has also initiated the process of setting up mini cinema halls, a long-pending demand of directors and producers.

Last year, the government gave nod to set up fours halls and tender has been called again recently to set up a few more.