The Filmcity at the Goregaon suburbs of Mumbai – the mostsought-after shooting location for films, TV series and commercials besidesbeing the largest studio-complex in India – is all set to undergo a Rs 1,800 makeover.
The aim is to upgrade and scale-up facilities and promoteBollywood tourism. The modernisation plan of the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari– as the Filmcity is known - comes at a time when the Indian fi lm industry iscelebrating its century.
“We have major plans for the Filmcity....we are working on aRs 1,800 crore makeover plan for the Filmcity. In the years to come, therewould be a complete change in terms of upgradation of infrastructure andfacilities – and it would be at par with the latest international standard,”top offi cials of Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation,that runs the Filmcity, said.
The officials said that it would take “five to six years” tofully implement the masterplan.
“Filmmaking has become highly competitive, we are the best,but still want to scale it up. And time would come when internationalfilmmakers would shoot their films in India on a regular basis. We are thinkingin terms of that,” the offi cials said, adding that it would also betransformed as a major tourist attraction of Mumbai.
The officials said that Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan havetaken keen interest in the project and several rounds of meetings with them toensure that the project moves at a fast pace.
How it is now?
Spread across 521 acres, the Filmcity has practically everypossible terrain that one can ask for. It has hills, lakes bridges, long andwinding roads and green expanse.
Located between the Western Express Highway and Vihar Lakeit is in the vicinity of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which happens to bethe only national park of the world – to be located within the metropolitan limits.
The Filmcity has nearly 40 diff erent outdoor locations, 16well-equipped soundproof studios and 80 airconditioned make up rooms. Recordingstudios equipped with state-of-the-art dubbing and mixing facilities andediting suites for 16/35 mm fi lms are also available.
They also have ready-to-use sound eff ects and services ofqualified sound recordists. Besides, the Filmcity has also entered intoagreement with Reliance Media Works to offer high quality colour processing service,digital studio, animation work and VFX and fi lm restoration services withinthe studio-complex. It also has a tie-up with the Mukta Arts that offersdigital facilities.
