THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Secretary Dr. A. Jayathilak said 'Start, action...'. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan clapped the film slate. The film conclave began at the Sankaranarayanan Thampi Hall in the Assembly. Heated discussions followed the inauguration. The government aims to compile all this and prepare a draft of the film policy after three months. Actress Navya Nair handed over the clapboard to the Chief Minister.

Minister Saji Cherian, who presided over the event, said that the government is planning to organize a Kerala Film Mart once every two years like the Kerala Travel Mart. The Chief Minister presented "Ponnada" to Mohanlal, Suhasini, Vetrimaaran, Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, Rasool Pookutty and Saeed Akhtar Mirza.

Ministers V. Sivankutty, Veena George, Speaker A.N. Shamseer, KSFDC Chairman K. Madhu, Film Academy Chairman Premkumar, Secretary C. Ajoy, media activist Sasikumar, K. Madhupal, Prakash Maktum, Divya S. Iyer, Padmapriya, P.S. Priyadarshanan and others participated. The closing ceremony of the conclave will be inaugurated by director Adoor Gopalakrishnan at 4 pm today.

'Ego should be put aside'

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that everyone should put aside their ego and work towards solving the problem, with the understanding that they exist only if this industry exists. "Anything becomes artistic only when it is presented symbolically. Film directors should not forget this. The scenes of extreme violence will distort the psyche of children. Presenting drug use in a glorified manner is a crime equal to promoting it. Drug use should be eradicated not only from the plots of films but from the entire film industry."