Let film industry develop in UP, say Bollywood biggies

LUCKNOW: Stressing on developing Uttar Pradesh as a hub of film production, noted filmmaker Subhash Ghai said here on Thursday, “Hindi cinema belongs to Uttar Pradesh. So let youths in UP unleash their creativity to make cinema an industry in the state.”

Ghai, who was at the session on media and entertainment at the UP Investors’ Summit-2018, said present efforts were all right but the future was in digital and he thought that stories from districts were better. “We intend to do something in UP. Let kids make stories and make movies. The naya (new) UP will come up with such thoughts,” he said.

“Hindi cinema is from Uttar Pradesh but there is no Hindi cinema in the state. We had to go out of UP but now we need to re-think, keeping in mind the fact that cinema can be a big industry. In America, entertainment is the second largest industry,” said Ghai. Rahul Mittra, producer of ‘Bullet Raja’ (a film that was shot extensively in UP) and CEO Wave Cinemas, said he would soon shoot two more films in the state.

Director, writer, producer and actor Anurag Kashyap said cinema had changed when policies changed. He cited the example of China and South Korea where policy change improved the situation, he said. “See the business of Tamil films. Things are changing in UP now as more films are being shot here but why can’t UP be the hub, as many producers and directors go out from here only,” said Kashyap, who hails from Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh.

He also pointed towards the lack of screens in the state. “When I asked many people about my film ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, most of them said they saw it on their mobiles,” he said.

Sudhanshu Vatsa of Viacom 18 also pointed towards lack of screens per person in India. “It is 8 in India and 30 in China while in the US it is over 100,” he said. “It is time to make films in UP and show them to the world,” he said.