This story is from February 23, 2018

Subsidy for UP-origin ‘girmitiya’ filmmakers

Financial assistance to filmmakers who choose to shoot in UP is not limited to Indians but even to citizens of countries like Mauritius, Fiji and Trinidad and Tobago if the makers are of UP origin.
Subsidy for UP-origin ‘girmitiya’ filmmakers
Financial assistance to filmmakers who choose to shoot in UP is not limited to Indians but even to citizens of countries like Mauritius, Fiji and Trinidad and Tobago if the makers are of UP origin.
“If people in these countries choose to shoot a film here, they will get a substantial subsidy,” said chairperson of Film Bandhu, Awanish Awasthi, at the session for media and entertainment at the Investors’ Summit on Thursday.

Besides, films in any language, including English will get subsidy if shot in UP, said Awasthi.
The session titled ‘Media & Entertainment, the Indian Digital Growth Story’, saw filmmakers Subhash Ghai, Boney Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap, Madhu Mantena and actor Ravi Kishan and Wave Cinemas CEO Rahul Mittra as panelists. Minister of state for information Neelkanth Tiwari was also present.
Ruing the fact the number of ‘screens’ in UP was dismally low, all panelists urged the government to set up more film theatres—both singlescreen and multiplex.
In his address, Ghai said, “It is unfortunate that Hindi cinema, despite a legacy of UP, found home in Mumbai. UP’s children go to Mumbai with their talent and parents must think of films as a career for their children,” he said, adding that university curricula must include filmmaking courses. “UP’s youth has stories which are better than ours,” he added.

Praising the Film Bandhu initiative, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap said that his production house was mulling a base in Lucknow as they shot in UP so often.
Asking the government for more cinema halls in the state, he said that piracy was the biggest discouragement for film-makers.
“Most people in Hindispeaking regions say they loved ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ but when I asked them where did they watch it, they said on their phones,” he said, adding that if revenue from hit films did not reach producers, it would be difficult for them to do such work.
A booklet on the state’s film policy was released at the session.
Inviting more projects to UP, minister Neelkanth Tiwari said an event exclusively for film-makers would soon be organised.
A booklet on UP’s film policy was released at the session
Big B voice-over for Sarnath show
Superstar Amitabh Bachchan on Thursday gave his nod to a voice-over for a light and sound show in Sarnath, said information secretary Awanish Awasthi during the session. He added that he had just received the actor’s confirmation.
Kapoor wants to revive single screens
Saying that the number of screens in UP was grossly disproportionate to the population of UP, filmmaker Boney Kapoor said UP needed more cinema halls — both single screen and multiplexes. Assuring the state of any help in such an initiative, he said, “UP has only 1,000 screens, which is dismally low. We need many more.” Kapoor, who said he was born in Meerut, also signed a Rs 250 crore MoU.
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