The Indian film industry players are right in saying that the government is acting as a step-mother. For, there are no guidelines for working capital finance and the industry is treated more as a milch cow by various state governments.

But again, that is right only to an extent. The Indian film industry is also to be blamed for this sordid state of affairs. Yes, it is disorganised, fragmented, its operations are opaque and there is no corporate governance.

Craze for corporatisation might be growing among the industry players, but they are still uncomfortable with the idea of transparency and public accountability. They still want public money, but precious little has been done about ending the menacing star system and unaccounted payments.

So then, it is high time the industry came clean and made a new beginning. Winning the trust and confidence of policy makers, bankers and the capital markets is a must. What is needed is wholesome purging. That is the primary requirement to be able to take on the coming competition and influence the government work out film industry-friendly policies. For, foreign entertainment giants are coming in droves with a few of them already around.

On the part of the government, it should shed the old world hangover and start treating the film industry as serious business, as any other industry. There is a need to rationalise power tariffs applicable to cinema houses and it is very necessary to have an integrated national film and entertainment policy which addresses issues ranging from financing to regulation to piracy.

Such a policy should address issues in the areas of distribution, and exhibition. If the government is keen, it should signal its interest by starting with rationalisation of entertainment taxes levied by the states. These entertainment taxes are not uniform and they can be suicidally high in some states.