“There are many filmmakers who want to shoot in Bihar, away from Mumbai, to bring authenticity to their work but end up settling for adjoining Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh or other states for want of adequate facilities here. Hopefully, the new policy will plug the gaps," Tripathi told PTI.
The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar is putting the finishing touches on a policy that aims to make the state an appealing shooting destination, especially for movies in dialects like Bhojpuri, which now have a huge market. This was declared earlier this week by the state's minister for art and culture, Jitendra Kumar Rai, at the Indian International Film Festival in Goa.
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Legendary Bollywood stars Dev Anand and Hema Malini flew in to shoot a song scene for Johny Mera Naam in the ruins of the venerable Nalanda university in the 1970s. Older people still speak about their fond memories of that time.
Bollywood celebrities from the A-list frequently visit the state for promotional events. However, there haven't been many times when movies have been filmed there. Due to ineffective crowd control, the team had to leave, casting a negative light on the state, which had become well-known for its lawlessness over time.
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Bihar, which is rich in locations, has not become a popular travel destination despite exceptions like Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, Manoj Bajpayee’s Shool, and Arjun Kapoor’s India's Most Wanted. Even acclaimed filmmakers like Prakash Jha, whose major works like Damul, Mrityudand, Gangaajal and Apaharan are based in Bihar, have shied away from filming here.
Manoj Tiwari, the renowned Bhojpuri star who is also a BJP MP from Delhi, has said that the Bihar government must have in place a corpus fund of ₹500 crore, which should be used to support producers of regional cinema who need initial capital to start a project.
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“This is essential to ensure that the new film policy does not remain on paper and that tangible results are seen. We are ready to help Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, leaving aside political differences," he said.
Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan, another huge star from Bihar, has said that the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is developing film cities in Gorakhpur and other parts of the state.
“There is no dearth of talent and resources in Bihar and there is no reason why the state cannot do the same," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
