Bhojpuri filmmakers finally have something to cheer about.
The state would get its first film city at Rajgir in Nalanda district, 70km southeast of Patna. Art, culture and youth affairs minister Shiv Chandra Ram made the announcement on Monday.
The film city in Bihar has been a long pending demand and several Bollywood actors from Bihar have continuously raised their voice in support. Be it Shatrughan Sinha or Manoj Bajpai, Ravi Kissen or Manoj Tiwari, all have demanded the same.
Now finally, the state government has decided to build a film city. "We have decided to make the first film city of Bihar in Rajgir. We have acquired 20 acres in Peelki and soon the detailed project report (DPR) will be ready. We are very serious on this matter and we want to promote film industry in Bihar," said the minister.
Sources said Bihar has a huge potential and at present, the market value of the Bhopuri film industry is nearly Rs 2,500 crore and rising with every passing year. Around 100 Bhojpuri films are released every year.
As things stands now, most Bhojpuri films are shot in Gujarat or Maharashtra. Almost 60 per cent of films produced in Bhojpuri are shot in locations such as Silvasa, Vapi, Rajpipla, Umargon and Kutch apart from other states like Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh. Bhojpuri films that are have a low budget prefer places where they can shoot as per their requirement.
For some scenes, producers prefer shooting at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. States like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have their own film cities.
Expressing happiness, Alok Kumar, a Bhojpuri film producer told The Telegraph over phone from Mumbai: "It is good to hear that the Bihar government has decided to make a film city, however it would be important to see that how the film city will be developed as only shooting of Bhojpuri films will not help it survive. Apart from shooting, other facilities, too, have to be introduced."
Ganga Jamuna Saraswati was the list film that Alok had produced.
Another Bhojpuri film producer Sunil Boobna, whose last film was Saiyan Jigarbaaz, said: "Having a film city is not enough. It all depends what kind of surrounding we get because a lot of factors depend on cost cutting. We prefer Gujarat to Mumbai because we get vast locations where we can shoot our film. We get supporting staff, technicians and other facilities. If we have the advantage of shooting in Bihar and adequate infrastructure is available, then it will be great. It is a good start, let's see how it unfolds."
Actors, naturally, expressed happiness. Shooting for a film in Jaunpur, Ravi Kissen said: "It is good news for me, as we have been demanding it for a long time. It would bring good revenue to the state because it involves a lot of people from various sectors such as food, laundry, barber, hotel and others. Like other states, the state government should also give subsidy if shooting take places in Bihar's film city."
