UP to provide free police protection for film shoots

The state government, under its new film policy, has been trying to promote UP's smaller cities as viable shooting locations. However, in the non-metros, a chief concern for filmmakers has been the security. In a bid to address that, the UP government plans to roll out a mechanism to provide free police security to filmmakers shooting here. State officials are also working on streamlining this process through the film promotion committees created by the government recently.Formation of a Film Shooting Wing under the UP Police is also in the pipeline.
Police security in Delhi costlier, but free in UP for filmmakers
Of late, UP's increasingly attractive film policies and sops have caused filmmakers shooting in North India to shift base from Delhi to UP. This new move is likely to further that trend as only recently, the Delhi government had increased the charges for providing police protection for filmmakers, a move that was described as restrictive by the film fraternity. The UP scheme will be implemented under Film Bandhu, the state's nodal agency for film promotion. Ashutosh Niranjan, secretary, Film Bandhu, says, 'The government had earlier issued a directive to form film promotion committees in every district of the state. These committees are to be headed by the District Magistrate and will include the district's Superintendent of Police as well as representatives of the Entertainment Tax department. Our idea is to utilise these committees to address filmmakers' security concerns.' The filmmakers will have to inform this committee ' something that can be done through Film Bandhu as well ' three weeks before the shooting and they will be entitled to free security for their shoot. Film Bandhu plans to launch the free security mechanism as a pilot project in select districts to assess the response for statewide implementation. Niranjan tells us, 'We can assess that based on the districts filmmakers prefer to shoot in the most. Cities like Agra, Varanasi and Lucknow are likely to dominate. We can look at Noida as well because it has a film city.'
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Film Shooting Wing to come up in UP Police
The film policy also provides for the formation of a Film Shooting Wing under the UP Police. For this wing, a certain number of police officials would be assigned, so that filmmakers could be provided security as per their demand. Earlier, UP had a mechanism to apply for police security, wherein the filmmaker would have to file an application at the DM office. Officials say that the new system will make the process more efficient and transparent. Niranjan adds, 'Earlier, the system was not monitored and there were complaints of delays due to red tape. But now, we are ensuring that everything can be resolved at a single contact point, like giving a single window for all security needs in a district.'
State to finance films?
The UP government could soon be financing films shot in the state as well. Since 2014, the state government has been giving reimbursements of up to Rs 3 crore to films that are shot here. Now, there will be a provision for direct financing as well. UP's film policy states that Film Bandhu will finance select films based in the state through the Film Development Fund. The financing facility is to be available only to films that have over 75% of their shooting done in the state. Ashutosh Niranjan, secretary, Film Bandhu, says, 'It is a part of the revised film policy and very much on our agenda. First in the scheme of things is promotion of films in UP through committees and a greater penetration of film shoots in non-metro cities. Following that, we will look into the financing aspect as well.'