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Cinematic dream in the hills: Himachal’s ongoing saga for a film city continues
The CM’s visit to Dubai saw discussions on proposals related to media infrastructure and tourism investors keen on contributing to the state’s growth and also presented proposals for investments in apple import, agriculture, and the hotel industry
Himachal Pradesh’s picturesque valleys have been a cherished destination for Bollywood filmmakers for decades. The appeal of the region’s natural beauty has attracted producers and directors, but the absence of a dedicated film city has long been felt. With an aim to promote tourism, now chief minister (CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has renewed efforts to set up a tourism-cum-film city in the state.
During CM Sukhu’s visit to Dubai, a renewed effort has been initiated to establish a tourism city in the state.
“There is a proposal to set up tourism-cum-film city in Himachal, right now we have two places in mind, one is Jathia Devi near Shimla airport and another in Palampur,” CM Sukhu told HindustanTimes after his return from the investors meet in Dubai.
“Investors keen on investing in tourism cities will meet in June,” he said, adding that Himachal aims to place itself in the cinematic map. Tourism city proposal is one small step in making the state self-reliant,” Sukhu added.
The CM’s visit to Dubai saw discussions on proposals related to media infrastructure and tourism investors keen on contributing to the state’s growth and also presented proposals for investments in apple import, agriculture, and the hotel industry. Shimla has been a favourite shooting spot among filmmakers for ages.
From black and white films like “Love in Simla” to new age romance “Jab We Met”, this hill town has been a favourite.
This is not the first occasion that the state has pondered over plans to set up a film city. Founder chief minister Yashwant Singh Parmar was the first to approach Bollywood film producers to highlight Himachal’s immense beauty on screen. Many films in the late ‘60s and ‘70s were shot in Himachal, which further boomed tourism in the state which was in the stage of development.
Late senior Congress leader and former communication minister Pandit Sukhram, envisioned a film city in Kunihar of Solan district. In 2015 Himachal government had drawn up a proposal for setting up a film studio. Information and Technology had shortlisted two places, Chail in Solan and Andretta in Kangra district. The state government had framed a policy that has made getting clearances much easier for film-makers.
Bollywood’s ace actor Anupam Kher, in 2021, shared his ambition to set up a film city in Himachal compelling the state government to draw a proposal, the state has seen its share of ambitions. However, the plans to set up film city did not materialise as it faced setback after setback.
The town has been captured in dozens of films like “King Uncle”, “Yeh Dillagi”, “Badal”, “Gadar - Ek Prem Katha”, “LOC” and “Raju Chacha”.
Popular films like “Bang Bang”, “Black”, “Henna”, “Kudrat”, “Highway”, “Lootera”, “Raaz: The Mystery Continues”, “Rani Padmini”, “Roja” and “Young Malang” are among those shot the state.
Manali too has remained popular with film producers. Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai’s “Action Replay” and Riya Sen-Vinay Pathak’s “Tere Mere Phere” also captured the picturesque locales of the hill station.
In the 1990s, Subhash Ghai’s “Saudagar”, Mani Ratnam’s “Roja” and RK Banner’s “Heena” were filmed in the state. So did Raj Kumar Hirani’s “3 Idiots” in Chail and Shimla.
