Rolling out a red carpet for filmmakers

Outside the Delhi’s pavilion, a silvery-golden structure catches the fancy of the bystanders. It reads, “A creative depiction of Delhi’s unique characteristics and narrates the saga of an ancient capital that still has soaring aspirations and sky is the limit..”.

Flanked right in the front of the pavilion, it allures you to wade inside for a peek into the pavilion that proclaims, “Hamse hain Dilli, Dilli se hain hum”. Packed with shoppers on a weekend evening, there’s no place to trudge your way through the capital’s pavilion in the India International Trade Fair 2013. 

A sea of people takes you through the whirlwind of staircase. You could stop and watch the panels and handicrafts on sale, specially the Tihar Jail products or continue with the horde of people following the rhythm of sound. It seemed that everybody was clambering down the path only to watch a live performance downstairs. 

Camera, roll sound, action! Those instructions were enough for a film buff to take notice and stop at the section dedicated to Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) at the ground floor, right next to the exit. With a trolley, TV screen, and a variety of lights, DTTDC has put up a shooting set in its stall to promote Delhi as a film shooting destination. Introducing a film shooting facilitation cell, the corporation aims at wooing filmmakers to the capital. 

Manning the stall, Surya Kant, a representative of DTTDC, says, “Now we have restricted our shows to a time limit. We had to open the emergency exit gate as well because this place gets jammed due the outpour of viewers to see the filmmaking process at our stall. There are 100 odd sites in Delhi that could be used for filmmaking and we are promoting them as a nodal agency for facilitating film shoots in Delhi.”  

Tackling the crowd at the Delhi tourism section, Kanisha Malhotra, the anchor says, “Before the fair opened to general public, our team used to perform for one and a half hour at a stretch. Now, we can hardly go on for 10 minutes at a go because the crowd is hard to manage.” Writer and director for an under-production film, Utopia, Kanisha, handles this large gathering at the counter with nonchalance. She fills in time in between the impromptu performances, quipping, “Had you been on an actual shoot where the likes of SRK and Katrina act, you would not have been allowed for this long, if you kept on howling and whistling around the set.” The team of performers dance to the songs of Gori Tere Pyaar Mein! one last time before the day dies out amidst the din of hooters and whistlers at the stall.