The International film Festival of India, now into its last day here, has provoked a major controversy. The Government, which runs the show, had more or less decided to strip it of its gypsy cloak, For decades, this cinematic extravaganza has been traveling to a different city every January, returning to New Delhi every other year, sometimes after a longer period. Obviously, the problems of a caravan existence have been multiplying. The organizing Directorate of Film Festivals, as wing of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, found, to its dismay, that a large chunk of its time and energy went into setting up its offices in a new place, identifying theatres there and improving facilities in them. There was very little time to concentrate on what is certainly the most important aspect of this whole business: cinema. It was, therefore, hardly surprising that this Festival could not get the best of fare. There were other factors that contributed to this sorry mess. If the reluctance of the Ministry to give the Director and her men a free had was a major obstacle, an utter lack of interest and a callous approach have almost killed the Festival. The Director remains the acting head, has been so far a long time. And, there has been virtually no attempt to replace the officers who have left or have been transferred. Two days before this Festival began in the capital; one of the Deputy Directors was shifted. Admittedly, another took or immediately, but to push a completely new man into the arena at an hour as critical as this merely proved how insensitive the Government was. It is in a scenario such as this that the move to hold the Festival in the same city every year must be welcomed. The Directorate will now breathe easier, and with a major hurdle out of its way, one hopes that it will make the show truly cinematic. However, not everybody is happy about the choice of the permanent venue. New Delhi, it is argued, is hardly a city with any great film culture, perhaps any culture at all. Calcutta, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai and Bangalore are probably far more ideal than the national capital, but with every city, barring the last two, conducting its own international festival, the choice is clearly limited. However, the larger question is if Chennai or Bangalore or, for that matter, any other place becomes the hub of this Festival, will the Government find funds to build a complex befitting an international event? Or, will it be able to get private sponsors willing to promote good cinema without being unduly concerned about business? Otherwise, there is always the danger of the Festival degenerating into something prurient. This years’ grant from the Ford Foundation and another agency seems like a happy development. Besides, the Festival must get its priorities straight. Although it is helpful to have an Asian angle to it, the Directorate will be naïve if it were to believe that it can attract good movies or important directors from the continent. The Asian Competition, which is to be part of the Festival, may have been able to get some good stuff this year, but that is not enough. And with Cannes, Berlin and even Venice now being the hot favourites of Asian Directors naturally so, for the exposure and market that these centres offer are terribly attractive the Indian Festival is bound to lose out. Sadly, there has never been a serious and concerted effort to market either out own cinema or one from abroad. The National Film Development Corporation of India, set up to promote sensitive and sensible movies, has hardly ever risen to the occasion. Also, it has its favourites: its own productions, for instance. An outsider or one who may hae made a pictue independent of the Corporation’s funding is usually given the cold shoulder however interesting his work may be. Eventually, what is important is commitment to great cinema.