Star-studded year ahead: 30 films to be shot in Delhi

To attract film-makers, the Delhi government is also working on simplifying the process to allow shooting of films in the city. Delhi Tourism has been appointed as the nodal agency for coordinating and getting clearances from all other agencies.

The move comes after many producers expressed interest in shooting the capital, but complained of bureaucratic hurdles that made Delhi "not such an attractive option for film shootings", government officials said.

To ease the process, Chief Secretary D M Spolia held a meeting last week.

"We have been working on a single-window clearance for making Delhi a more attractive option for film shootings. Meetings in this regard have been taking place for the past three months. Delhi Tourism has been appointed as the nodal agency for all clearances and we are working on the modalities for simplifying the process,'' Manager PRO for Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) Sudhir Sobti said.

Shooting for five films is already on in Delhi. Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol and Tamil actor Dhanush starrer Raanjhnaa is being shot at Indian Institute of Mass Communication. Also rolling in the city are Madras Cafe and Sahib Biwi aur Gangster.

"A total of 30 movies are expected to be shot in Delhi. We are coordinating to facilitate shooting of a movie by Rajkumar Hirani called PK. The shooting for this movie is expected to start by March,'' Sobti said.

The DTTDC will coordinate with agencies like Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Police, Delhi Metro, among others. "We hope that the single-window clearance system will be in place soon. We are trying to make this system online and are working out other modalities like payment. Once this system is functional, we will coordinate with all agencies on behalf of the film producers,'' Sobti said.

Officials said Film Commission of Delhi will also be set up at a later stage.

The government also hopes to attract producers from abroad once the system is in place. "In 2011, India saw 42 per cent increase in the number of Hollywood movies shot as compared to the previous year. Majority of them were shot in Delhi,'' a government official said.

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