INVC,
Punjab,
- ASKS GMADA TO SCOUT LAND FOR FILM CITY
- WORLD LEVEL FILM INSTITUTE ALSO PLANNED
- PUNJAB TO COME OUT WITH A POLICY TO ENCOURAGE QUALITY PUNJABI FILMS
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal today gave a big boost to the dream of ‘POLYWOOD’ by giving final touches to the proposed world class Film City and Film Institute in the vicinity of Mohali district. In a high level meeting held here today the Deputy Chief Minister said that Punjabi films and other language films shot in Punjab have a great future and state government should provide strategic support to film industry in this task. Mr. Badal said that he was getting lot of requests from film producers and directors to shoot their proposed movies in the scenic areas of Punjab Villages, historical forts, Golden Temple and to capture the rare beauty of narrow lanes of historical towns of Amritsar, Patiala, Kapurthala and Bathinda etc. He said that film producers on their own initiative were trying to capture the different angles of Punjab but there was no full-fledge system in the state to provide them strategic support in facilitating their shootings. Asking the Principal Secretary Tourism and Cultural Affairs Mrs. Geetika Kalha to coordinate with leading producers of Film Industry to know their requirements and come out with a complete conceptual plan for film city. Mr. Badal asked the Chief Administrator PUDA Mr. Manvesh Singh Sidhu to scout a suitable piece of land especially in the scenic foothills of Shivalik for the proposed film city and provide total connectivity to that site. He said that a core group should be formed to study the world class facilities available with the film cities of Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai and upgrade those facilities in the proposed film city to meet the requirements of Hollywood industry. He said that technologically the film city in Mohali should provide world class animation, film mixing, cinematography, sound engineering, editing and lighting facilities so that no producer after shooting the movie had to rush to Mumbai to give finishing touches to their movies. Describing mass media and film making as sunrise industry of future, Mr. Badal said that this was the only industry that was recording 46% annual growth despite worldwide recession. He said that the core group would also study the financial model of the industry, requirements for the Punjabi Film Industry, incentive package for the films being shot in Punjab besides a Special Package for those films that would provide encouragement and employment to Punjabi youth. Emphasising the need for developing proper human resource backup for film industry in the state, Mr. Badal also gave nod to the World Class Film Institute in Mohali that would provide specialisation in 48 trades related with Film Industry. The Institute to be set up in the PPP mode would have three year graduation level courses in direction, cinematography, editing, sound engineering, animation and visual effects, screen writing, make up, acting, production design and art direction. It has also been proposed to have Diploma level program at under graduate level in lighting design, multi camera studio operations, commercial photography, production design, visual effects etc. In the second phase it has been proposed to have advance diploma courses and post graduate courses in mass communication, journalism, advertising in Public Relations, development communication, media management etc. The institute to be setup at the cost of Rs. 115 crore would have proposed student strength of 2850 and it would be setup at a piece of land of 12 acres. Asking the department come out with a policy for encouraging quality Punjabi Films, Mr. Badal setup an expert group to finalise the contours of proposed policy. The Department has been asked to put a comprehensive policy after interacting with film industry Mughals within one month.
