KOCHI: It was in the early 2000s that the movie ‘In The Name Of Buddha’ courted controversy and was banned in Sri Lanka. The movie directed by Rajesh Touchriver bagged awards at festivals but it couldn’t reach a global audience. Last November the movie received a global release and had people turning in from different parts of the world. The avenue was provided by TEC G THEATER (TGT), an online theatre portal, thereby marking the beginning of a new wave in cinema and the world of art. TGT is an effort to offer a platform to bring into the public domain any artwork that has merit.
Picture this. Burrowing into your cozy couch, with your favourite drink in your hand and watching your favourite director’s movie or artwork, as soon as it is released or as it is streamed live. An online theatre where you get to experience the world of cinema or art forms at your convenience. One can watch the movies on the device of one’s choice after registering at TGT’s portal. TGT is the entertainment portal of the city-based IT firm Tec Gemini Info Services Pvt Ltd. An array of artworks such as feature films, short films, performing arts, albums, animation works, documentaries, web series and so forth will be on offer at TGT.
Soon, one will also get to watch the classics of noted filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The collection will encompass 12 movies crafted by the director. An app titled TGT is set to be released next month.
“At TGT, we offer filmmakers and artistes a space to showcase their work of art on a global platform,” says Suchithra Raman, the brain behind the initiative. “Imagine getting to watch every movie of your favourite director at one place.
Or watching the lesser known art forms of another state,” says an excited Suchithra. She chuckles at the thought of one day offering the movie collection of acclaimed filmmaker Kim Ki-duk. TGT which was relaunched last November with ‘In the Name of Buddha’, sent ripples in the cinema circles. Being ardently passionate about movies and artforms, it didn’t take long for Suchithra to decide on starting a venture dedicated to popularising artworks. “Many landmark works go unnoticed on not getting a platform to showcase it. TGT will help on that front,” she adds.
Having an online release of movies isn’t a distant reality. It also reduces the hassles of finding distributors, she adds. The viewer can pay and watch the artworks at their leisure. The artists or filmmakers get to decide the rate at which the work is exhibited. Collection reports are also sent to the producers on a regular basis.
At present, more than nine lakh people from across the world have registered at the portal.
The MCA graduate dreams of a platform which is a cache of landmark movies or every other art form.“We have seen several instances when the filmmakers suffer on not getting theatres to exhibit their work. And also there are several art forms that are confined to certain areas. Such artworks can be brought into the global arena. This also gives a major boost to our artistes,” she adds.