Plans include a first-ever Bollywood museum and amusement park on the premises, along with new outdoor locations
Bollywood is the heart and soul of Mumbai. Whether you’re an actor, a filmmaker, a Mumbaikar or one of the millions of tourists who flock to the city to catch a glimpse of the glamour and the filmmaking action, Film City is the place to go. Over the years, this Mumbai locale has gained the identity of being Bollywood’s home. Keeping with the times, Film City is set to get an ambitious makeover. Taking a leaf out of Hollywood’s book, authorities at the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagri have decided to revamp it like California-based studios that have mammoth amusement parks, eateries and film museums. If things go through as planned, Bollywood might just go one up on Hollywood hills and the glitzy lanes of Los Angeles. Here’s what’s in store…
Film City set for a major makeover
A DUAL-PURPOSE PLAN
Speaking about the news, engineer and Film City officer Chandrakant Kolekar tells BT, “This is a dual purpose project — we are looking at a complete rehaul of the facilities, where script to screen will be under one roof and so will post production and shooting. The other aspect is tourism. We want to encourage cine-centric tourists, and are looking at a mega amusement park with Bollywood theme rides.” The revamp will see Mumbai’s first Bollywood museum, which will showcase the history of the Indian film industry. There are also plans to showcase costumes of well-known films as part of the installations. There will also be a wax museum of the stars and the building will also house a 4D theatre. “This is a `2,600 crore project,” reveals Koltekar.
The project will take a while to come to fruition. Koltekar adds, “We have prepared a global tender and we are expecting calls from Indian and international companies. Post that, a developer will be appointed. The project has a phase-wise construction and roughly, the whole thing should take a few years.”
HOLLYWOOD-STYLE REVAMP
The revamp aims to turn Film City into a Hollywood studio kind of space. Says Jayshree Bhoj, MD, Film City, “We want to have a state-of-the-art facility, with production, pre-production and post production resources. Bollywood is one of India’s biggest cultural identities and as of today, there is nothing major that we have to showcase. We want to develop Film City on the lines of Hollywood, where visitors can see the shooting in a viewing gallery. Top film making companies from the West have already shown interest in the project.”
The amped-up facilities will make filmmaking faster. Bhoj explains, “Right now, when someone shoots a show or a film, they usually end up waiting till the production for the next shot is ready. But with this new set-up where one roof will have all facilities, people will be able to hop across to a studio in the same vicinity and start dubbing for the scene that they’ve just shot. Filmmaking is not just about the actors, very often, the production staff and the technicians have to work odd and long hours. Currently, film sets provide no place to rest, but we’re planning to have dormitories as well as hotels in every category.”
Natural vegetation and trees are a big part of the Film City locales. Bhoj assures that flora will be untouched while executing this high-profile renovation. “We will ensure that the trees and the greenery are maintained as is, because it often makes an important backdrop for most shoots,” she adds.
WHAT THE REPORT FOUND
CURRENT SITUATION OF FILM CITY
Existing condition of shooting facilities — inadequate number of studio floors, back lots and storage facilities.
Additionally, the studios and structures are in a dilapidated condition and unsafe for work Improper and unsafe methods followed for providing water and electricity at outdoor locations No provision for in-house accommodation for the shooting crew based out of Mumbai Lack of post-production facilities Absence of state-of-the-art post-production facilities in the Film City campus so as to provide a one-stop destination for production houses Lack of up-linking facilities that are key to certain verticals of production houses
AREA
Film City has 521 acres of land Roughly, 280 acres will be given for development (of these, 50 acres are in the no-development zone)
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