A file picture of Bollywood actor Tabu (left) and director Goutam Ghose on location in the Dooars during the shooting of Abar Aranye

Siliguri, April 14: Destination Dooars. That’s where filmmakers scouting for shooting locales are thronging. And the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation is ready to woo them with custom-made packages.

“Of late, the focus of filmmakers has shifted to the Dooars. With the region getting more visibility in films, we are being flooded with queries from tourists who insist on staying at the same place where scenes of the movies have been shot,” said Subrata Sengupta, the deputy general manager, north zone.

Giving back to the filmmakers for the promotion of the region through their works, the tourism development corporation, has decided to help the crews with packages designed to cater to individual needs and at the same time provide all other support they may require.

“Movies have a profound impact on holiday plans of tourists and that is why we want to woo filmmakers to this region, particularly to the lesser known areas,” Sengupta said.

“Filmmakers do not like being confined to one particular area for all their shooting requirements. We will design packages on the basis of the requirement of a team. We will not only have accommodation booked for them everywhere the crew goes, but also provide them with all logistical support. In places where we do not have tourist lodges, we will book private properties for them. Since they make bulk bookings, we will offer them discounted rates as well,” the north zone general manager added.

Dooars emerged from the shadow of Darjeeling and Gangtok and found itself on the tourist map only after filmmakers discovered the immense prospects of the region and gave viewers a feel of it.

Filmmakers like Gautam Ghose, Raja Sen and Aparna Sen have used the lush locales as the backdrop of their films. The trend has become more marked after the success of Aparna Sen’s Mr and Mrs Iyer, which bagged two national awards last year.

“Compared to Darjeeling, which is over-exposed, the Dooars region has a virgin charm. If the tourism department promotes film shoots, it will be welcome,” national-award-winning Tollywood director Panna Hussain told The Telegraph from Calcutta.

Hussain will head for the Dooars on April 25 to shoot his next film Tarpor Brishti Elo on the banks of the Teesta and in a hidden Dooars hamlet.

“Such a move will help, but the government should promote more properties, because several places where shootings can be carried out do not have lodges to stay,” Hussain said.

Kingshuk Dey, the vice-principal of the North Bengal Institute of Film Technology and a Siliguri-born Calcutta-based film director, also spoke highly of the photogenic region.

“The region is beautiful, lesser known, and available free of cost for shooting. There are no guild systems to prevent filmmaker from choosing their own workers. That is why people like to shoot films here. With better facilities, the numbers will rise further,” he said.

Dey will shoot his next film, based on world terrorism, in the jungles of the Dooars.