Mumbai's Film City may be home to world cinema

Mumbai's Film City may be home to world cinema
HAIMA DESHPANDE

MUMBAI, MARCH 4: Hollywood comes to Bollywood. The Maharashtra government's plan to develop Film City as a one-stop shop for international film-makers has got a positive response. Directors from other countries might soon share the studios with their Mumbai counterparts.

Hallmark Entertainment (New York) will film part of its Thief of Baghdad at Film City. Hallmark Chairman Robert Halmi visited Film City recently and was impressed enough to decide to bring his cast and crew here for the shoot, say officials.

The state government has appointed Anderson Consulting as consultants for this grand plan. Officials say 13 film-makers from abroad and international entertainment giants Sony and Universal Studios have shown interest in shooting here. The film-makers include Ros Colosimho (Colosimho Productions, Melbourne), Helle Ryslinge (Denmark), Kim Tae Min (Korean Broadcasting System), Kuang Xiaolin (China Film International), Jayampathi (Maclear Film Productions, Sri Lanka), Esatolah Entesasami (Iran) and Fredruksou (Iceland). The film corporations which are talking to the authorities are Scottish Screen, East Midlands Screen Commission, South Wales Film Commission and the Central England Screen Commission.

Maharashtra Secretary for Cultural Affairs and Managing Director of Film City Govind Swarup says: ``We have the infrastructure at Film City. The thrust will now be on technology development. This will be a two-pronged strategy -- to make the studios state-of-the-art and set up a training institute. The total cost for the remodelling and development is an estimated Rs 40 crore. We have raised Rs 20 crore through bonds and the remaining amount will be raised through borrowings from financial institutions such as IDBI.''

There are 18 studios now and four more will be added within the next six months. These studios will have facilities for satellite link-up, computerised lighting and camera movements, spot editing, computer graphics, digital technology and special effects.

The government also plans to set up five-star facilities, such as cottages, swimming pool, museum, library and restaurants. These will be operational in the next two years, says Swarup. ``We do not want to make everything exorbitant. We want the small producers and film-makers also to avail of the facilities. So the rates will be categorised,'' he says.

Film City will also see the birth of a training institute in the next three months. The government has been in touch with film institutes in the United States, British, Canada and Australia for a possible tie-up. ``The joint venture agreement will be signed within two months,'' says Swarup. ``Students will be trained in all disciplines of the entertainment industry. The idea is to develop the manpower for domestic and international employment. The modalities are being worked out,'' he adds.