Film city MD calls meeting on proposed Chitranagari merger

KOLHAPUR: Vilas Patil, managing director of the Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation Ltd, has called a meeting on September 10 to discuss the proposed merger of Kolhapur Chitranagari with the Mumbai Film City. He will hold talks on the issue with Vijay Patkar, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal (ABMCM).
Talking to TOI on the latest developments, Patkar said the Film City MD has invited the members of ABMCM for initial talks on the merger proposal. However, he said it would be too soon to comment on whether the merger would take place.
“There is no doubt that we want early revival of the Kolhapur Chitranagari. Hence, we have made requests frequently at the political level as well. Since Patil has said that the merger will be helpful for the revival of the Kolhapur industry, we would like to assess the possibilities concerned,” he said.
Patkar said he will hold a meeting with ABMCM members and the stakeholders associated with it, including the artistes, once he returns after holding talks with Patil.
On the current status of the Kolhapur Chitranagari, Patil said the work related to the compound wall has been completed on the 75-acre area.
During the valedictory function of the three-day film festival organised on the occasion of the birth centenary of legendary Marathi film director-producer Anant Mane earlier this week, Patil had proposed merging of the Kolhapur Chitranagari with the Mumbai Film City.
Patil had said that all the technical formalities associated with the Kolhapur Chitranagari are complete and it can be used further to recreate the golden period of Marathi cinema. He added that the decision of merging the Chitranagari will be taken after convincing the stakeholders in the industry and a meeting in this regard would be organised soon.
During the same event, district guardian minister Chandrakant Patil had said he is personally looking into the matter. He said a meeting with state cultural affairs minister Vinod Tawde will be called within 15 days to discuss the matter and bring some clarity over the project.
A member of ABMCM said there is a serious need of creating different sets such as a hospital, a police station, a temple and a marketplace so that the filmmakers can have the freedom to choose from the locations and start shooting at the place, which is lying in a state of neglect.
Chitranagari, a ‘one-stop location’ for film and television productions such as the Goregaon Film City in Mumbai and Ramoji Film City near Hyderabad, has been in a state of neglect since the past few years. It is spread over a 75-acre plot at Morewadi village, south of Kolhapur city.