Film city mooted in MP as Bhopal emerges fast on shooting map

"Though a land has been identified on the Bhojpur road at Bangrasia near Bhopal for the proposed film city, the state government before going ahead with the project has decided to discuss the issue with the experts associated with the film industry," Director Culture, Sriram Tiwari told PTI.

Soon, may be next month a crucial meeting with the experts will be held in this regard, he said.

"Before finalising the project we wanted to discuss in detail the industry's requirement and also learn from examples of existing film cities in the country like in Hyderabad, NOIDA, Goregaon and Bangaluru among others to draw a final plan which will be done soon," Tiwari said.

After 'Rajneeti', director Prakash Jha is filming his next venture 'Aarakshan' in Bhopal with Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone in lead roles.

Before these ventures, the city also witnessed the shooting of 'Diary of a Butterfly' directed by Vinod Mukhi and produced under the banner of Bhagyashri Productions.

Noted Hollywood actress Sofia Hayat also took part in the film shooting in the picturesque city surrounded by mountains and big lakes.

Recently, Jha not only praised the city for its scenic locals and supportive people, but also said that as compared to big cities shooting films here was quite cheaper.
Also, journalist-turned- director Anusha Rizwi's highly acclaimed 'Peepli Live' was shot at Badvai village near Bhopal. Noted filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya also came down here for shooting of 'Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi' starring Sonu Sood and Esha Koppikar.