India’s biggest media and entertainment convention, FICCI Frames, is back in its physical form after the coronavirus pandemic. A two-day precursor to this event, called FICCI Frames Fast Track, began today in Mumbai. Organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), FICCI Frames is attended by the who’s who of the media and entertainment industries.
Film Producer Ramesh Sippy; Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, UK; film star Ranveer Singh; Ashish Kulkarni, founder, Punnaryug & chair, FICCI AVGC Forum; Sumalatha Ambareesh, MP, Member Standing Committee on Communication & IT; Priyanka Chaturvedi, MP, Member Standing Committee-Transport, Tourism & Culture; Sanjay Seth, MP, Member Standing Committee on Communication & IT and Arun Chawla, Director General, FICCI were present at the event.
Ranveer Singh, who delivered the welcome address, applauded the resilience the industry has shown during the pandemic period. “With FICCI Frames Fast Track, we can fast-track some great ideas for the rapidly changing and hyper-dynamic landscape of Indian entertainment,” said Ranveer.
“Times are changing. Entertainment options have opened up. There are now perceivably new structures in Indian entertainment. All this has happened very recently. We’ve been accelerated rapidly into a new ‘looksphere’. The climate is different… in a very good way. In an exciting way. The media is fragmenting. Audience’s attention span is shrinking. We are seeing changes in entertainment consumption patterns. We are in a crazy state of flux now,” he added.
With a call to action, Ranveer said, “In this time of tumultuous sea-change lies opportunity. We must use this dynamism to our advantage. The Indian youth is a creative juggernaut. We now have the opportunity, more than ever before, to showcase our culture to the world.”
Speaking on the occasion, Arun Chawla, Director General, FICCI, mentioned how the media and entertainment industry not only survived but also kept the morale of the country high by providing them with entertainment when the whole world was going through tough times because of the pandemic.
Union Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Apurva Chandra said, “India will be a 10 trillion dollar economy in the next 10 years, we should target that the media and entertainment sector should grow to more than 100 billion dollars by 2030. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will do whatever it takes to support the M&E sector and help it grow.”
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, UK, touched upon the impact of good culture in the community. "Communities play such an important role in bringing people to settle in a region. It's not just about good schools, is it? It’s about the cultural life of a community, what people do to enrich their lives, to find joy, to find happiness,” said Brabin.
The two-day convention will see sessions with renowned names of the industry like Nikhil Advani, Divya Dutta, Madhur Bhandarkar, Paresh Rawal, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Adil Hussain, Revathy, Tamannaah Bhatia, Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK, Sohum Shah, Karan Johar, Ayan Mukerji, Imtiaz Ali, Anees Bazmi, Abhishek Sharma, Nitesh Tiwary and Ashutosh Gowarikar.
Studio heads will talk about the gamut of media and entertainment like Films, Television, Digital entertainment, Radio, Animation, Gaming, Visual Effects, Film Tourism, IP rights and Film Incentives.
