Don't show Indians in bad light: Jawhar Sircar urges foreign filmmakers

New Delhi: Foreign filmmakers must exploit India as a shooting destination, but must know the way to "draw a line" while depicting the country and its people, Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar said here on Friday.

Sircar shared his thoughts at a conference 'Film Tourism - India: The Focal Hub' organised by PHD Chambers here.

"I find that in the (Indian) film industry that they have issues of permissions, but where foreign filmmakers are concerned, I must admit that they (look at India on their own choices), Sircar said.

"They have usually projected us in a good light, yes, but many of my foreigner friends have told me that they loved 'Slumdog Millionaire', but there is one scene where one boy gets into a pile of shit to get an autograph... Was that really required," Sircar said of a sequence in the Oscar winning film.

"Would we really do that? Do Indians do that? It is the caricature... So, somewhere you (they) should draw the line. Don't project us in the wrong light. No person, no country has the right to go and mess up like that," he added.

At the event, filmmakers Prakash Jha, Madhur Bhandarkar and Raja Bundela were present as panelists along with PHD Chamber President Mahesh Gupta apart from Sircar as the panelists who spoke on the subject 'Film induced tourism destinations - Branding Indian States'.

Also present was Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs (Independent charge) as the chief guest.