Even as the stakeholders of tourism industry here urged the government to reconsider its move on the film city and retain the project in Mysuru, a noted Kannada film personality observed that there could be no other place than Mysuru for establishing the same.
“If the government wants to set up the film city in Bengaluru, it may as well establish two such projects, retaining the choice of Mysuru. With the rise in number of Kannada films, it is better to have two film cities for the development of the Kannada film industry,” said S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu, director, producer and former chairman of Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy.
Mr. Singh said Mysuru has an 80-year-old history of film-making. It’s rare to find 250 shooting venues in a radius of around 25 km. Mysuru alone has 16 palaces. A Hollywood film was shot in Mysuru in 1946 and the director of the film had apparently described Mysuru as one of the best locations for outdoor shooting, he recalled. More than 400 Kannada films are being produced every year, he added.
Mr. Singh, who had submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s office in this regard, said many Kannada actors had hoped Mysuru would be the location for the project. With Mysuru airport becoming active owing to UDAN flights and the expansion of the Bengaluru-Mysuru National Highway, Mysuru would benefit, he further argued.
Land woes
Confusion had surrounded the project with plans to shift it from Mysuru after H.D. Kumaraswamy, former CM, had announced the setting up of a film university in Ramanagaram. The reports had forced former CM Siddaramaiah, who had announced the project, to intervene and urge Mr. Kumaraswamy to keep the project in Mysuru since land needed for it had been handed over to competent authorities. Himmavu, near Mysuru, that falls under Varuna constituency, that was represented by Mr. Siddaramaiah for two terms and now by his son Dr. Yathindra, was identified for the project. But efforts to move it closer to Bengaluru, the hub of Sandalwood – the Kannada film industry, continued.
One of the reasons cited for moving the project to Ramanagaram was that the industry and people dependent on it were based in Bengaluru and it was convenient for them if the project developed closer to the capital. The idea was to develop the film city as a one-stop destination for film-making.
Now, Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan has spoken about setting up the film city in Bengaluru, creating doubts about the project in Mysuru. The stakeholders here had launched an online campaign to keep Mysuru as the site for the project.
