Greater Noida: Another film city is expected to open in India soon on a 1,000-acre plot of land in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar. Even though Uttar Pradesh already has a Film City in NOIDA’s Sector 16, the new one that will be built in YEIDA Sector 21 will be a much bigger one and is considered to be Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s pet project.

The first phase of the project will cover 230 acres and technical bids for its development were opened in early January. Four major firms from India and abroad participated in the bidding process, namely Supersonic Technobuild Private Ltd (Maddock Films, Cape of Good Films LLP & others), Bayview Projects LLP (backed by film-maker Boney Kapoor), Super Cassettes Industries Private Ltd (T-Series) and 4 Lions Films Private Ltd (backed by film-maker KC Bokadia).

The Yamuna Authority will conduct technical examination of all four bids and thereafter, financial bids will be opened according to the rules. It is expected that one of these companies will be chosen for the development of the first phase of the Film City in the coming days. This is the third time that the bid for the development of the Film City has been floated after two previous attempts failed to attract investors.

Dr. Arunveer Singh, CEO, Yamuna Authority, stated that the Film City is an ambitious project for the Uttar Pradesh Government and will be developed in phases following changes in the terms and conditions, under which the developer will be granted a licence for 90 years.

The Yogi Government is determined to develop the project in the Yamuna Authority area and the first phase will see the development of the Film City in 230 acres, including 75 acres for commercial activities and 155 acres for film-related activities. The estimated cost of the first phase is Rs 1,510 crore and the total cost of developing the Film City on the thousand acres will be Rs 10,000 crore.

In return for the 90 year licence, the authority will receive a share of the revenue of the Film City. It will see an annual increase of at least five per cent in this revenue. The moratorium period has also been extended to seven years instead of four years. This means that the company constructing it will not have to pay anything for seven years, and only after that, they will have to pay based on the revenue-sharing model.

The Film City is envisioned as a unified film studio where studios, sound, gardens, and black recording rooms for shooting films and programs will be available in one place. Currently, there are four major film cities in the country, including Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, Film City in Mumbai, Innovative Film City in Bengaluru, and MGR Film City in Chennai.

Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad was established in 1966 by Telugu film producer Ramoji Rao and its campus is considered to be the largest film city campus in India. Located 25 kms from Hyderabad it is spread over 2,000 acres of land or approximately 8.2 kilometers. There are also about 50 shooting floors here. It has been recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest studio campus and is the largest integrated film city in the world.

Film City, Mumbai is also an integrated film studio established in Mumbai’s Goregaon area. This studio, also known as Dada Saheb Phalke Chitranagari is located near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The studio was built by the state government in 1977 to provide facilities to the film industry and is spread over an area of 520 acres in the suburbs of Mumbai. There are about 16 studios and 42 shooting locations such as temples, lakes, hills, picnic spots, gardens, fountains, courts, villages, jails, and gardens. There is also a man-made waterfall here, which has been a shooting location for all Bollywood films.

Innovative Film City, Bengaluru is located in Bidadi, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. There are various shooting locations here, such as Aqua Kingdom, Dino Park, Mini Golf, Haunted Mansion, Innovative Talkies, Zoo Painting, and Mirror Maze, as well as Cartoon City. There are various types of museums here, such as the Fossil Museum, Wax Museum, Tribal Museum, and Oddities Museum. In addition to this, Innovative Talkies also has a 3D studio tour, photo booth, and a 4D Final Theater.

MGR Film City, Chennai is located on the outskirts of Chennai in the Taramani studio complex. It was established in 1994 with the aim of attracting film producers and various tourists. MGR Film City has been closed since 2002 and no one is permitted to visit the tourist places here.