Maharashtra sanctions Rs 15 crore for Chitranagari

KOLHAPUR: The long wait for Chitranagari, a ‘one-stop location’ for film and television productions like the Goregaon Film City in Mumbai and the Ramoji Film City near Hyderabad, is set to be over, with the Maharashtra government’s sanction of Rs 15 crore for setting up the film city infrastructure. Kolhapur Chitranagari was first proposed 27 years back. “The state government has sanctioned Rs 15 crore for the development of the film city. It will be utilized for creating sets like a corporate office, a hospital, a police station, a temple and a marketplace, among others. Six different locations will come into use for different types of shoots,” Sanjay Patil, managing director of Kolhapur Chitranagari, told TOI on Monday. Patil said that the basic draft of facilities at the Chitranagari, ranging from a vehicle parking lot to electricity and water supply at the site, has been finalized by the state government. He said that many of the locations at the film city will be ready for use by December 2014, in time for the Kolhapur International Film Festival.The Chitranagari is spread over a 75-acre plot at Morewadi village, south of Kolhapur city. Laxmikant Deshmukh, who was the district collector a couple of years back, had accelerated the pending proposal of Chitranagari. The government had floated tenders inviting developers for the Chitranagari construction in June 2009, which got stuck in paperwork. Later, the files were moved and the state cabinet cleared the files and sanctioned the funds for the project.Sources in the district collectorate said that the total cost of the project is going to be over Rs 300 crore. Once producers and directors start using Chitranagari and its locations, the revenue generated from it would be used for further development. A recent Marathi film, Angarki, was shot on location at open spaces at the Chitranagari, where producers had invested in setting up temporary infrastructure. The Akhil Bharatiya Chitrapat Mahamandal, the apex body of Marathi film industry, had also taken up the issue with the state government. Vijay Kondke, chairman of the Mahamandal said, “It is a welcome move, because Kolhapur had flourished in the film business in Maharashtra ever since film technology was introduced in the country. The Chitranagari could provide a big boost to the film industry in the state.”