The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the largest and oldest apex business chamber in India, has been cheer leading and supporting the cause of the Indian media and entertainment industry for over a decade. Ever since the accordance of “industry status” to our films in 2002 by the government which was largely due to the concerted lobbying efforts made by FICCI, the cinema sector holds special place for FICCI and as an industry body it has worked tirelessly on policy issues, being an agent of change for both the government and the industry.

For the first time this year, FICCI is coordinating on behalf of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, for the India Pavilion (112 Village International Riviera) at the 67th with the legendary Kamal Haasan, producer, filmmaker, actor and Chairman, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee – South, leading the official Indian delegation to Cannes and inaugurating the pavilion along with luminaries such as HE Arun K Singh, Indian Ambassador to France; Shri Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India and Mr Jerome Paillard, Executive Director, Marche du Film (the Cannes Film Market), and actor and producer Uday Chopra.

The India Pavilion will be showcasing Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with the aim of forging an increasing number of international partnerships in the realms of distribution, production, filming in India, script development and technology, and promoting film sales and syndication. As such, it is a matter of great pride that the Indian delegation will be led by none other than Kamal Haasan. An industry stalwart of five decades who has been recently honoured with the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honours, Dr Haasan is, apart from being one of India’s finest and most well-respected actors, a screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer, choreographer, producer, and heads the film production company Raaj Kamal Films International. As Chairman of the FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee – South, Dr Haasan has been at the forefront of efforts to reform and invigorate government and industry endeavours for propelling growth of the media and entertainment industry in the country. He has been steering dialogue and debate for the development of a more enabling environment for the South Indian media and entertainment industry. Under his steady and visionary leadership, FICCI has been, for the last five years, bringing together thought leaders, industry stakeholders and policy-makers to lay out concrete steps towards a clear growth trajectory for the industry.

Given that the South Indian film industry is responsible for more than 60% of the films produced in India every year, it is only fitting that the Indian delegation to Cannes this year (which includes people such Ravi Kottarakara, President, Film Federation of India, and earlier the SIFCC) is led by a versatile and multi-faceted personality such as Dr Kamal Haasan. As he says, ‘Indian films – including South Indian ones – have been selected and honoured at the Cannes Film Festival for many years now – I am happy to be part of the official Indian delegation, which will allow me the Cannes Film Festival, May 2014. This will be a path-breaking India Pavilion indeed, chance to speak to the world film community about the Indian film industry today. As Chairman of the FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee – South, I am delighted to have this opportunity to also speak about the development of the Southern industry, which has been a special focus of mine for the last five years.’