Entertainment took centre stage at this event in Lucknow

A bevy of stars gathered under a single roof to participate in the Uttar Pradesh State Film Festival and a seminar organized by Film Bandhu, Government of Uttar Pradesh. Held in association with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, UP Chapter, at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in

Gomti Nagar

, a total of 14 films that were shot extensively in the state received the subsidy from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

(L) Ayushmann Khurrana was the surprise guest on the occasion (R) Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)
The first session which was moderated by Mukesh Singh, had lyricist and screenwriter Manoj Muntashir, Vipul Rawal, Anil Sharma, director, and producer Vinod Bachchan among others, as the panellists.

Rita Bahuguna

Joshi, Minister of Tourism, UP, who graced the occasion as a special guest for the session, talked about how UP is emerging as a popular destination for shooting among filmmakers. "My family and I were a huge fan of the Indian cinema and I always wished that UP should be among the emerging states where all stars come and shoot," she shared.

(L) Dinesh Sharma (C) Eiqbal Jaafri (R) Himanshu Sharma (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)
The second session, moderated by Jitendra Kumar Singh, IAS, Principal Secretary, Culture Department, marked several prominent personalities from the entertainment industry like Boney Kapoor, Rahul Mittra, Ravi Kishan, Anand L Rai, Sri Narayan Singh, Satish Kaushik, Dinesh Lal Yadav and more who were present to talk about enhancement and development of film-induced tourism. Dr Dinesh Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister, UP, was the special guest for the second session.

(L) Lalit Khaitan (C) Manoj Muntishir (R) OP Singh (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)
Satish Kaushik, who wrapped up his film in the city recently, narrated his experience of shooting here. "Mera toh taaza taaza experience raha hai. I really enjoyed directing the film here and the locations we shot at were apt for our story. We decided to cast local artists because jo zubaan humein UP mein aakar milti hai woh kahin par nahi hoti," said Satish. Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan, who has shot several of his films in UP, talked about the kind of love he receives when he shoots in the state.

(L) Mukesh Bahadur and Reena Singh (R) Pooja Tandon (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)
An interactive session conducted by Avanish Kumar Awasthi, Chairman Film Bandhu, in which the audience asked questions regarding filmmaking, was the actual highlight of the event.

Nitish (L) and Vipul Rawal (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)
The event concluded with UP CM Yogi Adityanath giving away the cheques of the subsidy to the filmmakers and producers, who have shot their films in the state.
— Prachi Arya and Saad Abbasi

(L) RK Chaturvedi (C) Rahul Mittra (R) Ravi Kishan (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

(L) Ravindra Gautam and Ashu Trikha (R) Rita Bahuguna Joshi (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

(L) Satish Kaushik (R) Sunil Sirvaiya (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

(L) Sri Narayan Singh (C) Swati Singh (R) Aashish Singh (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

(L) Alok Ranjan and Awanish Kumar Awasthi (R) Amrapali Dubey (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)

Anand L Rai (L) and Vinod Bachchan (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)