The Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA) has written a letter to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, extending its support to the government to keep the film industry intact in Maharashtra.
Recently, some reports have suggested that Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath had held a conference with film industry celebrities such as Anupam Kher, Satish Kaushik and Udit Narayan in September, wherein he announced his support for the construction of a Film City in UP's Gautam Buddh Nagar, which is being touted by the state government as the "biggest" film city in the country.
Now in the letter the IMPPA has stated that "Bollywood and the Hindi film industry have been born and have grown in Mumbai as it is a very vibrant city with excellent weather throughout the year enabling comfortable working/shooting of all films".
The letter further states that "Mumbai is the heart of the Hindi film industry and nobody can take it anywhere because the industry consists of its people which are producers, directors, artistes and other technicians who form the core of the industry... and they will not lose out on opportunities made available to them by other states and countries but they will never shift their base because the Hindi film industry considers Mumbai to be its heart and soul".
The IMPPA letter also cited some suggestions that can help the film industry grow in Mumbai:
Subsidies and Entertainment tax exemption, which are made available only for all Marathi films by the government at its expense, should also be made available to all Hindi films because the industry is in need of financial aid owing to the losses incurred during the coronavirus lockdown.
Shooting in Maharashtra should be encouraged and locations should be provided with minimum permissions and free of cost. For example, the Dada Saheb Phalke Film City should be available at the lowest cost and the 25 per cent discount provided by Film City should extend to Hindi films too.
The Maharashtra government should amend the decades-old rules and regulations which do not apply to any industry but only to the Hindi film industry, as a result of which many single screens and studios in Mumbai are shutting down.
It is necessary to provide government locations for shootings free of cost.
For the film city in Uttar Pradesh, reportedly 1,000 acres of land have been set aside near Sector 21 of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority area with 780 acres demarcated for industrial purposes, such as the setting up of studios, and 220 acres reserved for commercial use.
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