Facing competition, Maharashtra has big plans for Film City

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government has drawn up an ambitious plan to refurbish the Film City here as an ultra-modern shoot destination like Hollywood, at an estimated cost of about Rs 30,000 crore, President of Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) T P Aggarwal said.

"I have seen the plans and feel that the Film City project, on completion after five years, would be comparable to the world famous Hollywood studios," Aggarwal told reporters. The Government has planned to execute this venture with the help of private sector and the work is expected to begin within a year, Aggarwal said. The IMPPA President said the Government embarked on this project to promote the Film City located in suburban Goregaon, and also to stop filmmakers from going to foreign locations. The cost of making films would come down as a result, Aggarwal said. Some countries have started giving subsidies to Indian filmmakers. Fiji is offering subsidy to the tune of 45 per cent of the film`s production cost, followed by Spain at 40 per cent and Mauritius at 35 per cent, he said. London also gives subsidy. The trend is fast catching up in India. Uttar Pradesh Government offered subsidy of Rs one crore each to Hindi films `Dedh Ishqiya` and `Bullet Raja`, both of which were shot in that state. While Goa and Gujarat have already come out with `one window clearance` to attract Bollywood filmmakers. "IMPPA has taken up with Maharashtra the issue of introducing `One window Concept`, but the response is not encouraging although the Government has not totally refused to entertain such a plea," Aggarwal said. To the question why many films do not run successfully in theatres, Aggarwal said the taste of audience is changing rapidly. The filmmakers have to remain in touch with the taste of the audience. Plans have been chalked out to introduce mediclaim for filmmakers who suffer stress-related ailments due to uncertainty in the business, he said.