GILL SCRAPS EMPANELMENT
OF PRODUCERS ON DD

In a significant decision, SS Gill, CEO, Prasar Bharti has done away with the practice of empanelment of private producers by Doordarshan and has also scrapped the list of 1600 odd producers/directors who are empanelled with Doordarshan.

According to the earlier practice, Doordarshan used to empanel producers/directors in order to make a comprehensive list of producers whom DD used to fund.

With this new development, empanelled producers will have no right to ask DD to fund them (to make programmes for DD). Now onwards DD will give money only to those producers who are celebrated film-makers and have established their name in this business.

But Gill’s decision has upset private producers who used to depend on DD for commissioned programmes, especially, serials, making it a lucrative business for them. For the last few years, many independent producers and directors had been complaining about the nexus between some DD officials and some selected independent producers because of which most of the funds for commissioned programmes were allotted to a few producers.

The bad quality of these commissioned programmes has been another issue on which questions were raised even in parliament.

Last week during a press conference, organised by Doordarshan Empanelled Producers Association of India, the private producers criticised Gill for his decision. They said that the practice of giving commissioned programmes to empanelled producers should not be stopped. They also demanded that Gill should be thrown out of Prasar Bharti.

When asked to comment on this SS Gill, while talking to Screen said “Private producers are saying that I have thrown them out. Now tell me, are they the employees of Doordarshan? No. No private producer has any kind of right on DD. Now it is up to Doordarshan to decide who should be making programmes”. He complains that most of these producers are not film-makers but only ‘money makers’ and says that most of them do not understand the business of film-making.

Commenting on the allegation made by the private producers that the quality of DD’s programming started deteriorating just after Gill took over, Gill says, “Everyone knows that the quality of news on DD has improved substantially. Even the election coverage done by us was excellent. I am getting lots of letters from all over the world congratulating us on our achievement. As far as poor quality of programmes on DD is concerned I must tell you that private producers are responsible for that. They have exploited DD in many ways. Now that we are trying to improve overall quality and image of DD, I have decided to stop giving funds to these producers.”

He further informs that he plans to find only established and well known film-makers just to give DD’s viewer better programmes. “Our loyalty is to the viewer and not to these independent producer,” says he. He also seems to be totally against the old practice empanelment of producers by DD.

“Who the hell is Doordarshan to give merit certificates to film-makers? Film-makers like Shyam Benegal and Saeed Mirza are not empanelled with DD.. Does that mean they are less talented than these empanelled producers?”

Recently Gill visited Calcutta to meet well-known film-makers of Calcutta to ask them to make serials for them. With Gill’s initiative film-makers like Aparna Sen, Mrinal Sen and Gautam Ghosh are making serials for DD. He has already approved more than 20 serials of various producers in Mumbai. He says that he wants to change the earlier system because of which talented film-makers had to wait endlessly to meet DD officials for the approval of their serial.

“I want DD to go to them and request them to make something good for its channels,” says Gill. He says that he’s already asked film-makers like Mahesh Bhatt and Gulzar to make popular serials and not too artistic ones, so that they don’t face any difficulty in getting sponsors.