'New film city in Noida won't divide B'wood, but boost Indian cinema'

The proposed 'infotainment' city to be set up in Noida in Uttar Pradesh will provide a massive boost to Indian cinema and "not divide" the Bollywood, feels Bhojpuri actor-turned-politicians Ravi Kishan and Manoj Tiwari.

In September this year, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced to set up a world-class infotainment city in Gautam Buddha Nagar district spread over an area of 1,000 acres.

Kishan, who is a BJP Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, told IANS that the new film city is a massive project undertaken by Yogi Adityanath and it will fulfil the requirements of the entire country.

Kishan, who has so far acted in more than 600 films in multiple languages, said, "This (the film city) will generate employment for 24 crore people of the state. The film city is proposed to be built over an area spreading 1,000 acres, which is very big as compared to the Mumbai film city which is spread over 500 acres."

He also pointed out that the proposed infotainment city in Noida will be a matter of pride for the people of India as a "world class" facility is being built in the state.

"India is the largest film producer in the world as it offers over 1,000 films in multiple languagesevery year. And for such a huge number of films, a new world class film city in the Hindi heartland will help cater to the demands," the BJP MP noted.

He also said that the decision taken by Yogi Adityanath is being appreciated by all.

To a question about the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra raising objections over the new infotainment city, Kishan said, "This much of noise around the new film city is not good as it is not being built in Pakistan's Karachi but in Uttar Pradesh, which is a part of India."

"The film city is being built for the entire country where even Marathi films will get subsidy. In the proposed facility, film in Hindi, Telugu, Malyalam, Bhojpuri, Tamil and even serials and webseries will be shot," he said.

The Bhojpuri actor said that whoever comes up with films or serials on Indian culture based on good stories will get subsidy.

The BJP leader also pointed out that this new film city will fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious mission of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India).

Kishan added that the proposed film city will have the positive points of natural locations required for shooting movies or serials at a very short distance, with proper road, rail and air connectivity.

Another Bhojpuri actor and singer, Manoj Tiwari, who is also a BJP Lok Sabha MP from northeast Delhi, told IANS, "The Bollywood would not be divided due to a new film city in Uttar Pradesh."

He said that Bollywood does not complete shooting of a movie entirely in Mumbai as the films are shot at several locations in India and abroad. "Thus the people will also come to Uttar Pradesh for shooting films. And Shiv Sena leaders should get rid of the negative thought as the new film city will help regional artistes to showcase their talent," he added.

When asked about Noida already having a film city in Sector 16-A, which is spread over an area of 100 acres, Tiwari said, "The current film city in Noida has only indoor shooting facilities while the new film city will have outdoor shooting options available for the makers of films and serials."

Earlier this week, Adityanath had met film personalities such as Rahul Mittra, Subhash Ghai, Boney Kapoor, Manmohan Shetty, Satish Kaushik, Arjun Rampal, Jayantilal Gada, Tigamnshu Dhulia, Anil Sharma and Ravi Kishan during his two-day visit to Mumbai. The CM also met actor Akshay Kumar during his visit to Mumbai on Tuesday night.

Akshay Marwah, CEO of Marwah Studios, a pioneer in filmmaking, said, "We have been nurturing talents for decades and this new film city will open even more new avenues for young filmmakers in India and abroad."

Marwah, who also established the AAFT University, India's first film university, said that a new film city will not divide the Bollywood venues in India, instead it will create more opportunities as India is the largest film producing nation in the world.

He also said that it will help regional cinema big time to grow as the upcoming film city would be in better proximity and the facilities which are being offered are world-class and at the same time it would be more cost-effective as compared to Mumbai and the quality of productions will also improve.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)

Tags: Cinema, Showbiz, Bollywood