Dehradun: Uttarakhand is emerging as best destination for the film shooting. All the film production houses have started giving priority to Uttarakhand to shoot films. When Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat met with the film personalities under “Investor’s Summit” in Mumbai, everyone said that the possibility of film shooting in Uttarakhand was there from the beginning but the kind of initiative Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra has taken for the films, it has increased the eagerness of the Bollywood and the entire film industry towards Uttarakhand.
Chief Minister met all the filmmakers present in the programme and asked them for suggestions on what improvements can be made in the state’s film policy. Chief Minister said that the state government is preparing a favorable environment for the film industry in the state. Nature has blessed Uttarakhand with so many things. There are numerous spots of waterfalls, lakes, forests, rivers, mountains, snowy peaks, adventure sports and wildlife. Everything related to nature, which a filmmaker wants to capture in the camera, is there in the state. Uttarakhand can be referred to as an open film studio.
Chief Minister said that the most important aspect of Uttarakhand to shoot films is good law and order situation and peace loving people here. After taking suggestions from the producers and directors, the government will soon approve the new film policy thereby opening the door to many big filmmakers. A friendly atmosphere is being provided to the producers for the shooting of films. For attracting more and more filmmakers, fees for shooting movies have been waived off. Filmmakers are getting permission to shoot from single window clearance system. That is, if any filmmaker applies for shooting in Uttarakhand, then he gets permission within only seven days. As a result, six big Bollywood films have been shot in the state in the last six months.
South Indian films are being shot in Uttarakhand. A film of Mahesh Babu has been shot in Uttarakhand. The Director of Baahubali movie S.S.Rajamouli has also surveyed the shooting places sometime back and will be seen with their crew in Uttarakhand soon. We have also made provision of grant of Rs 1.5 crore for the films whose 75 per cent shooting will be done in Uttarakhand. He said that the state government has also tried to encourage films at the grassroots level. We want that if a filmmaker comes from Mumbai to shoot in Uttarakhand, then he should not have to bring a big team of technicians, spot-boy etc. We are planning to provide such skilled technicians at the local level, for which we have started the Film Appreciation Course in Dehradun. Impressed by the film policy of Uttarakhand, this year, Uttarakhand was conferred with ‘Special Mention Certificate for Film Friendly Environment’ award during the National Film Awards. We do not want to restrict film shooting to entertainment only. We want this to strengthen our tourism sector. Employment opportunities will be created in the state at the local level by film shooting. Uttarakhand will be contributing to the film industry and more and more technicians and artists can be available here for a healthy competition.
Chief Minister has called upon all Bollywood film producers and directors to come once to visit Uttarakhand. “I assure you, though you will come like a visitor but you will like the environment here so much that you think to contribute here as an investor”, he asserted.
Many filmmakers and directors, including Vishal Bhardwaj, Ramesh Sippy, Parth of Karan Johar Production, Mahesh Bhatt, Siddharth Roy Kapur and Satish Kaushik talked about shooting films in Uttarakhand soon. Film producer Siddharth Roy Kapur said that this initiative of the state government is commendable. It is rare that a Chief Minister of the state himself invite the filmmakers to come to his state. There is a lot of potential in Uttarakhand. Filmmaker Narayan Singh said that he has shot a film in “Batti Gul Meter Chalu” in Uttarakhand, in which state government has provided a lot of support. There are lot of good location in the state. The quiet atmosphere of shooting he got in Uttarakhand is nowhere else. When people used to come to see the shooting, they came with complete discipline and peace.
Film producer Mukesh Bhatt said that there is a lot of potential in Uttarakhand. The government should make policies with the view of the filmmakers. Special attention should be given on grants and other facilities. Ramesh Sippy said that we all are with Uttarakhand. Shooting of films will also encourage tourism in the state.
Film producer Boney Kapoor also spoke of giving support to the Uttarakhand government. Renowned lyricist Prasoon Joshi said that the people of Uttarakhand are very sensitive. We all should work together to create such an atmosphere, which will create a friendly atmosphere for shooting in Uttarakhand. Filmmaker Satish Kaushik said that he has a longstanding relationship with Uttarakhand.
On this occasion, Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh said that the state government will provide every possible help to film producers and directors. Secretary Information Dilip Javalkar gave information to the filmmakers about the facilities given in the Uttarakhand Film Policy. Also, he sought suggestions for making amendments in the film policy. Javalkar said that proposals are being prepared for investment in the film city and studio during the Investors Summit to be held in October.
Rishabh Chopra of Yash Raj Films, Sheel Nimbalkar of John Abraham Productions, Kulmeet Makkar of Film and Television Producer Guild of India, Parth Arora of Fox Star Studios, President of Indian Motion Pictures Producer Association T.P.Aggrawal, Producer-Director Hansal Mehta, famous singer Anuradha Paudwal, Producer Nitin Chandrachur, Producer-Director Mukesh Bhatt, Producer Arvind Babbal, Producer Dr. Ratishankar Tripathi, Mayank Tiwari, Vikramjit Roy, Uday Singh of the Motion Pictures Association of America, Producer Ashish Singh, Dilip Tahil, Sudhanshu Pandey and several other renowned personalities were present in the programme.
Principal Secretary Manisha Pawar, Secretary Finance Amit Negi, Managing Director Saujanya, Chief Minister’s Media Adviser Ramesh Bhatt and Industrial Advisor K.S. Panwar were also present in the programme.
