Govt mulls single-window system to promote state as a film destination

In a bid to create friendly environment for filmmakers in Haryana, the state government is planning to amend the Haryana Film Policy 2018, officials said.

In a bid to create friendly environment for filmmakers in Haryana, the state government is planning to amend the Haryana Film Policy 2018, officials said.

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“Once the state Cabinet is formed, we will be proposing certain amendments to the Haryana Film Policy. We are suggesting the formation of a recommendation committee that will work closely with the one that finalises the incentives given to the filmmakers. The intention is to streamline the functioning and focus more on the branding of films shot in Haryana,” said a senior official who preferred not to be named.

In implementing the policy launched from Gurugram last year, the Film Cell, department of information, public relations and languages (DIPRL), is in the process of introducing a single window online mechanism for taking permissions for film shooting, and creating Haryana Film Promotion Board. It is almost a year after the policy came into existence that the online mechanism will become functional.

In a meeting held last week with city magistrates and district information and public relations officers through video conference, Sameer Pal Srow, director general, DIPRL, said that permission for film shooting can now be taken online.

“As a part of the policy, the process for all permits and clearances will be through a single window mechanism for all production houses to shoot a film in Haryana. Earlier, separate permissions were to be taken from the district administration and the police department, and for other formalities,” said Neeraj Kumar, deputy director, information and public relations department, adding that most of the states in the country already have a single window system for permission.

There are about 40 places in Haryana that can attract filmmakers. The most popular destinations are Gurugram, Faridabad, Ambala, Panchkula, and Jhajjar, among others. In the last one year, the department has permitted shooting for eight films, which include Bollywood and regional Haryanavi and Punjabi films.

Last month, shooting for Hansal Mehta’s ‘Turram Khan’ starring Raj Kumar Rao was done in Jhajjar. Another film ‘The White Tiger’, based on a novel by Man Booker Prize winner Arvind Adiga, with Priyanka Chopra in the lead role is being shot in Faridabad. “A part of the film will be shot in Gurugram in December,” said Kumar.