Cinema, sports need encouragement from government: Ritesh Batra

Mumbai, Dec 22 : Inspite of Satyajit Ray, Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta, Irrfan Khan and Priyanka Chopra, why is Indian cinema not sanctioned a global respectability as yet?

Ritesh Batra who made "The Lunchbox", the most globally celebrated Indian film in recent times, feels Indian cinema needs more support from the Indian government.

"Indian actors like Irrfan, Nawazuddin (Siddiqui), Naseeruddin Shah, Priyanka, now Deepika Padukone are being recognized globally. But I think there’s a lot to be done. I think there has to be more support from the Indian government for both movies and sports," he said.

Ritesh is proud of what India has achieved in sports.

"At the Olympics this year we won a few medals. I think it’s truly commendable ,given the lack of resources. That fine American actor Bruce Dern who is part of my film ‘Our Souls At Night’ used to be an athlete. He was talking about how admirable it is for Indian athletes to make it in the Olympics.

"Similarly for films like ‘The Lunchbox’ to travel so far is not easy. There is a lot more work to be done before we are recognized globally," he said.

Ritesh plans to make another film in India soon.

"My next film is set in India. Right now I am shooting for ‘Our Souls At Night’.We complete all shooting by the end of the year," he said.