Bhubaneswar: A film city proposed to be set up with an investment of `5,000 crore has turned out to be a story without script. It was first announced during the ‘Make in Odisha Conclave-2017.’ Since then nothing has been heard about it.
According to sources, at the Make in Odisha Conclave, the state government had green-signalled a proposal by a Mumbai-based group to construct a film city on the lines of Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, near Chilika Lake. The idea was seeded by renowned film producer Mustaq Nadiadwala way back in 2016.
As per the decision, the proposed film city would have several film studio complexes, palatial buildings, recording rooms, theatres, many luxury hotels, multi-cuisine restaurants and natural environments with landscapes designed for film shooting. The plan also included amusement parks, theme parks, an artificial lake, fountains, temples and a lot more.
The film city was proposed to be built on 1,000 acres at a cost of `5,000 crore near Asia’s biggest brackish water lake. The dream the state government had projected to the people of Odisha was that the Chilika film city would be the second largest destination for film producers in India after the Ramoji Film City. As per the decision, what a producer was required to do was just to enter the film city with the script and the rest would be assured there.
The state government had made tall claims that many tourists from across the country and abroad will visit the film city which will help the state earn a lot of revenue. It would have served the purpose of Odia film producers, who are going outside the state to make the films which is, of course, expensive. The film city was expected to have created employment opportunities for many youths of the state. However, the project has remained on paper as authorities are yet to acquire land for the project.
Meanwhile, the state government has also failed to renovate the Kalinga Studio, the only film studio in the state, which was ravaged by the Super Cyclone of 1999. Though the village complex inside the Kalinga Studio was repaired some months back, it was again devastated by Cyclone Fani which hit the state May 3. The complex has only one studio and a very few TV serial producers are using it. Film producers are reluctant to undertake their projects at Kalinga due to lack of infrastructure.
When reactions were sought from government officials concerned, they tried to pass the buck.
When asked, cine critique Dilip Hali said, “Keeping in view the status of Odia film industry now, there is a dire need for a good film studio. A perceptible change can happen to the Odia film industry as soon as the film city is built. The construction of the film city will usher in simultaneous growth for the film industry and the state.”
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