Film culture is expanding tremendously in the country. State governments are making film policies for the development of local art, culture and tourism and are also setting up film cities to encourage local artists. That means there is only one opportunity for the artists living in every corner. In this connection, news came last week that a film city will also be built in the country's capital Delhi. Like Mayanagari, Delhi will also have its own film world - where lights, camera and action will resonate. Obviously, this announcement becomes important towards realizing the dreams of those artists who live near Delhi or go to Mumbai via Delhi to struggle.
In this regard, during the International Film Festival at Bharat Mandapam, an agreement was also signed to give 486 acres of land. This project will be completed jointly by the Central and Delhi governments. Current era in Delhi Film City Cinema Keeping in mind the needs of the government, hi-tech studios, shooting locations, post production units and other modern facilities will be restored. So that feature films, TV serials, and OTT series can be produced easily. Its objective is to provide opportunity to local talent, career building in the field of film and expansion of employment.
It is noteworthy that even though Delhi has not become a big center of film production like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, the seeds of film culture are already present here. Many artists from Delhi like Shahrukh Khan have made a place for themselves in Mumbai. This list includes all types of artists like actors, actresses, singers, lyricists, musicians, cinematographers. NSD and Prasar Bharati based at Mandi House have created a tremendous environment for theater and film production in Delhi.
There was a time when artists like Naseeruddin Shah or Raj Babbar who came out of NSD achieved the best position in films. This trend continues even today. Many artists associated with NSD or other acting training institutes have often complained that they do not get work quickly after completing the drama course. Obviously, in the future, when Delhi will have its own film city, the chances of such artists getting work will increase. They will not have to struggle by going to Mumbai.
By the way, let us tell you that the foundation of separate film cities was also laid in Noida and Greater Noida adjacent to Delhi. A big film city was built in Sector 16-A of Noida in the eighties. Established in 1988, many production houses are still running on 100 acres of land. In the beginning, many people from the Mumbai film industry famous personalities Took the places here and decided the time to start the work. However, the culture of film production could not develop as was expected. Later this place became famous as a news media hub. The offices of the country's big news channels are in this Film City. Noida is now known as News City rather than Film City. There is more production of TV shows rather than films.
If we talk about Greater Noida Film City, its foundation was laid in 2021 itself during the Covid period. The special feature of Greater Noida Film City, which is being built on one thousand acres, is that it is being established in Sector 21, near Jewar International Airport, which has been inaugurated recently. Greater Noida Film City is an ambitious project of the Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh. A modern film city is being created through PPP model in collaboration with famous producer-director Boney Kapoor. In the first phase, world class studios are being built on 230 acres at a cost of about Rs 1510 crore. Its objective is to provide opportunities to new talents of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. Big filmmakers of Mumbai have shown interest in it. Local talents are eagerly waiting for its operation.
These are not the only two film cities in Uttar Pradesh, last year Lucknow Film City was also announced. After the formation of the new government, work is being done on the format of Film City in the neighboring state of Bihar, while in Madhya Pradesh also this work is in full swing. It is noteworthy that in recent years, film activities have increased in states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand etc. The trend of showing the culture of these states in the stories of small towns has increased. In view of this, the governments of these states have started emphasizing on the development of film production sites along with film policies. However, due to some obstacles, the expected success has not been achieved. These film cities could not become an alternative to the Mayanagari of Mumbai.
The situation is better in the south or west than in the northern states. Ramoji Film City located in Hyderabad is a very big film city. Ramoji Film City, established in 1996, is spread over an area of 1666 acres. In this city, which has all kinds of attractive locations and grand studios, not only films in South Indian languages are produced but Hindi films are also shot. Apart from Ramoji Film City in South, Vana Vikas Filmcity in Tamil Nadu and Kanteerava Studio in Bengaluru are also very famous in this regard, where South Indian films are made.
It is noteworthy that the film city culture in the country starts from Goregaon Film City in Mumbai. Mumbai, which is said to be the world of film stars and the hub of Hindi-Marathi films, was established by the Maharashtra government in 1977 as Film City. The idea put forward by V Shantaram, BR Chopra and Dilip Kumar was laid by the Maharashtra government in an area of about 520 acres near Aarey Colony in Goregaon East, which is today a major film production center of the country. Shooting of films, TV serials and OTT series continues here in different studios. Shows of various private entertainment channels including Doordarshan are shot in the studios here. A large part of the Hindi entertainment industry depends on Goregaon Film City.
Apart from these, there are discussions about some other major film cities in the country. For example, it would be appropriate to take the name of Prayag Film City for Bengali films. It is situated in an area of about two and a half thousand acres in Midnapore, West Bengal. It is also called Chandrakona Film City. Shahrukh Khan has also been the brand ambassador of this Filmcity established in the year 2012. Chandrakona Film City is the biggest center for Bengali language films.
However, there is a common belief that despite becoming a regional film city, unless Mumbai's stamp is put on the career of artists, they do not achieve the pinnacle of success. Be it Greater Noida Film City or Delhi Film City – similar decentralization of the center of film production is necessary for the emergence of new talent. It should be hoped that with this decentralization, local talent will get a proper platform instead of Mumbai's established artists.
