Indian film to be based on Italy ‘shipwreck’
Local sensitivities on island delay shooting
ROME, April 13, (AFP): An Indian film loosely based on last year’s Costa Concordia shipwreck is to start shooting this year in the same region of Italy where the disaster happened, the Toscana Film Commission said on Friday.
Shooting of the Tamil-language film was due to start next month but will have to be delayed because local sensitivities on the island of Giglio where the wreck still lies mean it will have to be filmed on a different island.
The luxury liner crashed into the tiny island in January last year with 4,229 people from dozens of countries on board in a tragedy that claimed 32 lives and triggered international concern over cruise ship safety.
“The community on the island is understandably very sensitive. We are trying to find another island in the archipelago where they can shoot,” said Raffaella Conti from the commission, which helps producers shoot films in Tuscany.
The film will be made by Sri Mishri Production and is part of a new wave of Tamil cinema known as “Kollywood” — a combination of Hollywood and Kodambakkam, a neighbourhood in Chennai in Tamil Nadu in southeast India.
The basic plotline for the film is that “a group of tourists find themselves on a desert island as a result of a shipwreck,” Conti said.
Tuscany is bidding to become a new destination for blockbuster film productions from the world’s new economic powerhouses.
Bollywood stars have been strutting the mediaeval streets of famous Tuscan cities like Florence, Lucca and Siena in recent months including for the Tamil-language hit Rajapattai starring Vikram.
A popular Brazilian soap opera “Passion” has led to a spike in tourism from Brazil and Chinese state broadcaster CCTV’s “The China Story” has told the tale of the phenomenon of Chinese immigration in the Tuscan fashion industry.
“We are turning to the BRIC countries as one of our directions,” said Conti, using a popular term for global economic powerhouses Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The Toscana Film Commission in Florence, a public-private partnership, helps filmmakers deal with local red tape and find locations and staff. Its members have attended film festivals in Busan in South Korea and in Hong Kong.
Another Indian movie is due to begin shooting in Tuscany later this year and this time the subject matter is altogether less sensitive.
“Roy” starring well-known actors Ranbir Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez will be a sultry love story between two filmmakers in Tuscany’s rolling hills.