Pune se chali Paris

Anusha Nandakumar is the only Indian amongst 12 students selected to make a film at the Europe's Femme Institute

While cinema has always drawn a young crowd, more and more youth today are keen to get behind the scenes. And Pune's Anusha Nandakumar (23) is one such youngster who is all set to embark upon a career in filmmaking.
Anusha left for Paris yesterday after she won a coveted two-month French Embassy scholarship to make a documentary at the Europe's premiere Femme Institute.

The scholarship includes to and fro air fair, a monthly stipend of 800 Euros and a consolidated 5,000 Euros for the period of two months to meet academic and filmmaking costs. She will also get an opportunity to see the La Rochelle International Film Festival in Paris.

In fact, Anusha is the only Indian to be part of a contingent of students from across 12 countries visiting Paris. "The support for filmmaking has improved and the age group of those joining film institutes has come down," she said.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

"The National Film Development Corporation now gives up to Rs 2 crore preferably to students educated in cinema for individual feature film production and up to Rs 4 crore for joint productions," she added.

According to Ansuha, the opportunities created by production houses like UTV Spot Boy, Fox Entertainment and Sony Pictures among others in the country has created unlimited opportunities for youngsters with filmmaking and direction skills. "For instance, a film called Chillar Party is being shot in the city and a large number of film graduates are involved in the making," Anusha said.

Within three months of completing the diploma, young passouts are out there making films, she said.
She has already interned at Thomas Balmes Production House in Paris and was a recipient of the French Embassy Scholarship in July - Aug 2008 and has visited France on a cultural exchange programme through Les Amis de France. Currently, she is pursuing a course in direction at the Satyajit Ray Film Institute in Kolkata.