Dear community, we are seeking your support for the above request considering the devastating situation our community is going through due to COVID-19 pandemic, recession, and other reasons listed below.

1. All public events in Victoria this year have been cancelled or shifted to another State due to Covid-19 outbreak so why is the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne allowed to re-schedule their August event to Oct-Nov 2020 in Victoria?Is this festival planning to invite guests from India where Covid-19 infections are the 3rd highest in the world? We hope not!

2. IFFM is not the place to invite drug influenced guests. Right now, the Bollywood Film industry is being investigated by the Narcotics Control Bureau and Central Bureau of Investigation in India due to their reported links with mega drug cartels request Film Vic to ensure every celebrity guest and their staff, coming into Australia via the Tender Provider IFFM events, gets drug tested upon arrival and before exit from Australia.

3. IFFM falsely celebrated their 10th year anniversary in 2019. IFFM commenced in March 2012 through a tender process funded by the State Government of Victoria. Therefore, IFFM will only completes 10 years in 2021. Why did IFFM conduct a false and mis-leading 10-year celebration in 2019? How could Film Vic support and promote this huge error? Was it to please the Bollywood Mafia man Karan Johar and his close companion Shah Rukh Khan who where guests at this fake 10-year IFFM event? We the Indian community are extremely disappointed by this false and misleading event conducted with the name of our community just to promote Bollywood’s Goons.

4. Tender provider IFFM is titled ‘Indian Film Festival of Melbourne’ not ‘Bollywood Film Festival of Melbourne’. Why has IFFM every year for 9 years heavily focused on promoting the Bollywood film industry as a main film industry of Indiawhen it is not? From the recent post by IFFM on their Facebook page ‘Hollywood meets Bollywood’, to the Hoyts website where all Indian movies are clubbed under the title ‘Bollywood’ instead of ‘Indian’ and the Telstra sponsored ‘Bollywood Dance Competition’ held to promote ‘Indian’ films and ‘Indian’ dance talents. 400 plus Aboriginal Australian Mobs are differentiated by their language groups in the same way as India’s 28 states and 33 IndianCinema industries. This lack of recognition of diversity in our Indian cinemas and the continuous heavy promotion of Bollywood by the IFFM is extremely hurtful and insulting to us Indians in Australia.

5. Conflict of Interest’ in having only Mind Blowing Films Distribution company aligned with the IFFM. Amalgamation of all the Indian Film distributors in the IFFM will truly meet the needs of the Indian community of Melbourne and have agenuine representation of India at the ‘Indian’ Film Festival of Melbourne. If this is not considered then we find the business of MBF being the sole distributor promotor, presenting and receiving the funds for the IFFM, 9 years in a row, as a conflict of interest.

6. Many Indian communities have approached IFFM with the offer of guests and subsidiary events to serve all the various Indian communities we have in Melbourne but year after they are ignored by IFFM. When Film Vic is approached directly, they are told to go to IFFM as they take care of all Indian enquires. Unfortunately, Film Vic will only believe or deal with IFFM for all Indian community matters. Unacceptable ignorance of our Indian Community outcries.

7. IFFM event ticket prices are considered too expensive by many in the Indian community in Melbourne. If the community is priced out of attending this Government funded IFFM event, then who is the IFFM supposed to serve?The overseas celebrities or the Australian community?

8. Neoptism by Karan Johar was raised by a few Bollywood actors some time back but now, with the recent murder of popular Bollywood actor Sushant SinghRajput, the evil bully-till-death actions by the Bollywood A-listers on upcoming Bollywood actors is just not tolerated. We do not want such Nepotistic guests to be invited to our Tender funded event.

9. The Indian Community of Melbourne are also concerned with the funding of $200,000 being provided to IFFM this year from Film Vic. If this festival is conducted on a small-scale virtual platform this year, why does it require $200,000 in funding? If this funding amount is correct and the public is not informed of where this money is being spent then we want to make it clear that we the Indian community of Australia will not support spending our precious tax-payer money inviting stars online from the Bollywood industry until their names are cleared from the current investigations in India.

10. Lack of investment in local film projects and film events and artists. IFFM has a prolific history of lack of investing in and ignoring local film projects and artists. In one example a film made by a Victorian-Indian only got recognition at IFFM after the film received recognition outside of Australia. Also, several complaints have been sent to IFFM for not considering our local Victorian-Indian Bollywood star Pallavi Sharda for the IFFM Ambassador role but instead they appoint Bollywood mafia supporter Vidya Balan as their Ambassador?! What a disgrace!  Such constantignorance of our local talents by the IFFM is unforgivable.

11. IFFM deleted 1000 of messages from the Indian community recently urging to cancel the invitation and promotion this festival has given to the Nepotistic gang supporter and India’s most hated journalist Rajeev Masand. IFFM ignored us and continued with their plannedevent of Anupam Kher being interviewed by Rajeev Masand. This action by IFFM gave us clear indication that this Festival prefers serving the Bollywood industry needs than meeting their Australian-Indian community obligations.

We will not stand-by and allow our Indian heritage to be tarnished alongside the criminal activities of the Bollywood industry. We urge Film Vic to take strong actions on IFFM to take a strong stance in presenting a clean-drug free ethical ‘Indian’ Film Festival of Melbourne. However, if we are continuedto be ignored then we are forced to Boycott IFFM completely.

If you think our concerns are right and for local people’s benefit, then we hope to get your support by signing this petition. Thank you.