40 years and many approvals later, a state-run film city project remains on paper

Back in the 80s, the then Karnataka chief minister, the

late Ramakrishna Hegde

had proposed the setting up of a dedicated

film city

in the state. Land was allocated at Hesaraghatta in Bengaluru, but 40 years hence, the project remains a proposal, shunted between multiple governments and locations. In the last four decades, multiple administrations have tried to get the ball rolling on a film city for Karnataka, amid a tussle over whether to set it up in Mysuru, Bengaluru, somewhere in between the two cities or elsewhere altogether. Every time there is an announcement with a possible location, there is objection and the project goes nowhere. In fact, Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayana’s most recent announcement to set it up on 150 acres of land at Hesaraghatta, which, incidentally was the location originally mooted by the late Hegde, has run into stiff opposition from environmentalists.
‘A lack of political will to make it happen’
A Sandalwood director, on condition of anonymity, says, “Every year, the government gets crores in revenue in the form of taxes from industry, yet there is not enough political will to get the state a film city. Although there has been a new announcement, considering that the government is still neck-deep in pandemic control, I don’t think there will be any other measures in this respect in the foreseeable future.”
A senior industry observer and insider adds, “These film city projects are announced with great gusto. But that is all there ever is — there is no follow up. With every changing government, priorities differ, as does the proposed location for the film city, leading to a tug-of-war. There hasn’t been a strong voice from the industry also to follow through on any announcement .”
Private players make own film city projects
Given that there seems to be no end in sight on the stalemate over a state-owned film city, some Kannada filmmakers have decided to take matters into their hands. Producer

Umapathy Srinivas Gowda

, for instance, is constructing a film city on his land off Kanakpura Road. He says, “It is better to be self-dependent, so, I am constructing a film city on 15 acres of land. Work has begun and I hope to be able to open it up for film shootings next year. There will be floors to erect sets as per the discretion of film teams, as well as ready-to-shoot settings of a railway station, police station, hotel, pubs and a palatial house.”
Filmmaker Anup Gowda plans to establish a mini film city at a location between Tumakuru and Magadi Road. “The existing studios in Bengaluru are either outdated or occupied by TV channels that have sets for long-running shows. So, we have to go to Hyderabad each time, which increases the film’s budget. Since I have a parcel of land, I decided to set up a small but useful state-of-the-art facility for Kannada filmmakers. The blueprints for the structures are ready, and work will commence next year,” he says.

From the 80s to now – here’s the lowdown on the proposed film city

1980s: Former chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde announces a film city project at Hesaraghatta.

2004: Proposal to set up a film city in Hesaraghatta.

2012: Proposal to set up a film city in Hesaraghatta.

2015: Proposal to set up film city at Ratnapuri on the outskirts of Mysuru.

2017: Proposal to set up film city in Mysuru by then chief minister, Siddaramaiah.

2019: Proposal to set up film city in Kanakapura by then chief minister, HD Kumaraswamy.

2019: Proposal to set up film city at Roerich and Devika Rani’s Tataguni estate, by chief minister BS Yediyurappa.

2020: Proposal to set up film city at original location in Hesaraghatta announced by deputy chief minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan.

With inputs by Sunayana.Suresh@timesgroup.com