Akhilesh Yadav signs Rs 650 cr MoU for two film cities
Akhilesh Yadav with filmmaker Boney Kapoor, actors Divya Dutta and Ravi Kishan at the launch of Film Bandhu website in Lucknow on Saturday. (Source: IE photo by Vishal Srivastav)
In attempt to make Uttar Pradesh a destination for film production and facilitate film-making here, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Saturday signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up two film cities in the state.
While one will be developed along Lucknow-Agra Expressway by Purple Seas group with technical support provided by the Government of Japan, Bhojpuri film star Ravi Kishan will develop another film city in Trans Ganga Hightech City Scheme near Unnao district. An investment of Rs 650 crore is estimated to be made in the two projects.
Purple Seas Executive Director Vishwa Vijay Singh said his film city would be equipped with all the infrastructure that is required for making a film. He said the film city will be “digital, green and solar-powered” with technical support from Japan. MP of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party Kotaro Nagasaki was present when the MoU was signed Saturday.
Actor Ravi Kishan said the state government had said the work on the development of film city should be over in 36 months from the time the land was allotted. “We will start work at the site very soon as the state government has earmarked the site for the project,” he said.
On the occasion, Akhilesh also released Film Policy-2015, according to which the state government will take various initiatives to promote film-making in UP. The government will sign an agreement with Directorate of Film Festival to organise International Film Festival in Lucknow every year.
To promote regional films, the government has made it compulsory for theatres in the state to screen a regional film for at least two weeks in a year. As an incentive, it will exempt the entertainment tax completely for a year to the regional language films — Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Bundeli and Braj — shot in UP.
The CM also launched the website of Film Bandhu and said that UP has a huge market for film industry.
Source:: Indian Express
