Did Nadav Lapid episode lead to NFDC MD Ravinder Bhakar's ouster? Know who's replacing him

Ravinder Bhakar, CBFC CEO and outgoing NFDC managing director. (Photo: Twitter)

An order dated January 11, 2023, issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), with approval of MIB Minister Anurag Thakur, is being circulated, however, it had still not been published on the MIB website when we made a call to check on Friday, though they confirmed the news is correct.

The order being circulated states that "Prithul Kumar (IRTS: 2000) working as Joint Secretary (Films) in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is hereby given the additional charge of Managing Director, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) with immediate effect for a period of 06 (six) months or till the appointment of regular MD or until further orders, whichever is the earliest. He will continue to discharge all responsibilities as Joint Secretary (Films) in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting."

Prithul Kumar will be the interim NFDC Managing Director, replacing NFDC MD Ravinder Bhakar, with immediate effect. Our enquiry about the decision — considering Bhakar has only been in this role since December 2021, a little over a year — drew a blank.

It is interesting to note that the order was passed the same day as the Golden Globe Awards 2023 announcement, and the top news of the day was SS Rajamouli's film RRR's song Naatu Naatu's win. Also this decision comes days ahead of the Oscars 2023 final nominations announcement on January 24, as the film at the centre of controversy, The Kashmir Files, is rallying hard to win a seat, if not an award, at the global table.

Who is  as the interim NFDC MD? 

Prithul Kumar, 46, like his predecessor Bhakar also comes from the Railways. Bhakar was a 1999 batch officer of Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS), who was made the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Central Board of Films Certification (CBFC), and Kumar is from the 2000 batch of IRTS (Indian Railway Traffic Service), a prestigious Group ' A' civil service cadre of the Central government. Kumar, however, will only be filling in the void created by Bhakar's exit for six months, starting January 11, 2023, or until a regular managing director is assigned. In August 2022, Kumar — then the executive director and joint director mechanical engineering (computerisation and information system), Railway Board — was given the deputation of joint secretary, MIB, for a tenure of five years.

Who is Ravinder Bhakar, the outgoing NFDC MD?

Bhakar was given the charge of CEO of the CBFC in June, 2020. In December 2021, he was assigned three charges in addition to his duties as CEO of the film certification body: as the managing director (MD) of the NFDC, and director general of the films Division (FD) and Children's Film Society of India (CFSI).

What were the key events at the NFDC during his tenure?

Bhakar, sources say, was brought in to expedite the clearances of many pending deals, such as the NFDC merger, which saw the closure/merger of CFSI, and then Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), National Film Archive of India (NFAI) and Films Division (FD) last year.

During his tenure, India was also invited, as the "country in focus", to the Cannes Film Market, Marche du Film, a parallel event of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival last year. Though it just meant a greater number of Indian filmmakers could pitch at the market to find global buyers/distributors. NFDC was already sending shortlisted five independent films under NFDC's "Goes to Cannes" in the previous years to MDF.

And, while, sources opine that this decision isn't an overnight one, there have been charges levied against Bhakar, from personal and professional quarters, the decision to get Nadav Lapid as the jury head of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2022, in Goa, backfired for the government and the country, and, perhaps, acted as the last nail on the coffin.

ALSO READ: India's Films Division, NFAI and DFF are gone. Can the new NFDC support and inspire great cinema?

What was the Nadav Lapid episode?

Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, the jury head of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), described Vivek Agnihotri's Anupam Kher-starrer Hindi film The Kashmir Files as "propaganda", "vulgar", "disturbing" and unfit for a prestigious international festival like IFFI.

#KashmirFiles: #IFFI Jury says they were “disturbed and shocked” to see #NationalFilmAward winning #KashmirFiles, “a propoganda, vulgar movie” in the competition section of a prestigious festival— organised by the Govt of India.
Over to @vivekagnihotri sir…
@nadavlapi pic.twitter.com/ove4xO8Ftr

— Navdeep Yadav (@navdeepyadav321) November 28, 2022

ALSO READ: 'The Kashmir Files' vulgar, propaganda movie: IFFI jury head Nadav Lapid at closing ceremony

ALSO READ: I was invited to the festival as jury head and did my duty: Nadav Lapid, Israeli filmmaker

ALSO READ: Who is Nadav Lapid, Israeli filmmaker who criticised 'The Kashmir Files' as ‘propaganda’

The whole show at IFFI was being run by the NFDC for some time now even though the organising of film festivals fell under the mandate of the DFF (Directorate of Film Festivals). December 31, 2022 saw the closure, in a way, the demise, of three important government film bodies, DFF, NFAI and FD, so called "merged" with the NFDC and their mandates passed on to NFDC, a loss-making private-public entity, and much smaller compared to scope, scale, staff and operation of, say, the Film Division, which had, at least, 400-plus staff across the country. The "merger" was done in a hurried manner, the stakeholders kept at bay. The decision of a merger/closure was passed during the tenure of the former Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar, and executed under the current Minister, Anurag Thakur.

NFDC is a PSU established in 1975, its earlier avatar was the Film Finance Corporation. Its job was to finance, produce, and distribute feature films, and to promote filmmakers outside the mainstream. It has made noteworthy contributions to parallel cinema, but has been unable of late to provide exhibition infrastructure to independent filmmakers. Through its Film Bazaar Work-in-Progress (WIP) Lab, NFDC has provided a platform for young talents to interact and learn.

The PSU was declared a loss-making asset by NITI Aayog in 2018, and its closure was proposed in the Parliament. With the other bodies now merged with NFDC, it is now the “umbrella organisation”, or rather the only government-backed organisation, to be associated with India's mammoth cinema industry.

Will the NFDC removal affect Bhakar's role as CBFC's CEO? 

At the moment, it is not known whether this decision of relieving Bhakar of his NFDC duties will impact his role as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief executive officer or not. Interestingly, Bhakar's Twitter bio mentions neither the NFDC not the CBFC, it says, "IRSS Government Official, Rail & Transport Enthusiast, MNIT Jaipur Alumnus, Fitness & Sports Buff, Nature Lover."