After a successful collaboration with the NFDC Film Bazaar in 2015, Gujarat Tourism returns as a State Partner this year to aggressively promote the state as a film friendly destination.

The state of Gujarat, which bagged three awards in Tourism and the “Most Film Friendly State”, has been following an aggressive tourism policy approach in the area of developing and promoting tourism.

Gujarat state Tourism participated in the Film Bazaar for the first time in 2012 and took up a Film Office in 2015 to promote Gujarat as filming destination.

Gujarat awarded the National Award for being the “Most Film Friendly State” in 2015, which has been introduced as a new category under the National Film Awards and executed by the FFO.  The award was conferred to the State of Gujarat, for its effort in the direction of ease of doing business in respect of facilitation of shooting films in the state.

Film Bazaar facilitated Gujarat in setting up one-on-one meetings with some of the prominent Bollywood filmmakers including, Rajkumar Hirani, Anurag Kashyap, Kabir Khan, Anurag Basu, Vikas Bahl, Rohan Sippy, and Karan Malhotra who gave constructive feedback to the state tourism department.

Film Bazaar - Pandolin.com

(L-R) Madhur Bhandarkar, Shoojit Sircar and Prakash Jha at the Knowledge Series in 2015

Renowned filmmaker Shoojit Sircar who attended the Knowledge Series session at NFDC’s Film Bazaar 2015 shared his experience of shooting, Piku in Gujarat. Talking about how easy it is to shoot in Gujarat he quoted “Gujarat is one of the few states in India which actually has a single window clearance for permissions to shoot”.

The great exposure and the positive outcome of one-on-one interactions with Indian and International filmmakers at the Film Bazaar 2015 resulted in Gujarat’s collaboration with Film Bazaar as a state partner, this year.

Talking about the association the spokesperson of Gujarat Tourism says, “Picturesque locations, friendly people, efficient administration and robust infrastructure make Gujarat the most encouraging state for film and its promotion. It was in the year 2012 that Gujarat started its association with the Film Bazaar and took up the Film Office in 2015. Each year, we aim for a better and healthy partnership for better exposure with the national and international film fraternity.”

How the collaboration will create opportunities for the state to expand their reach globally? “By having a Film Office and being involved with the Film Felicitation Office activities we seek to align with the rules and norms of the MIB and attract more filmmakers, Indian & international, to come and shoot in Gujarat” The Gujarat State Tourism spokesperson adds.

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(L-R) Anurag Kashyap, Amit Masurkar and Bardroy Barretto at the Knowledge Series in 2015

The Film Bazaar, which is organized by the NFDC (National Film Development Corporation of India), the nodal agency appointed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is the official body for all the permissions related to shooting of films in the country. Gujarat seeks to align with the rules and norms of the MIB and keeping this in mind, the association with Film Bazaar has been established in a big way this year.

State Government has passed a Film Cell Resolution to facilitate production houses with assistance in film shooting permissions and other incentives.

Gujarat Tourism’s major aim is in 100% sync with the vision and mission of the Tourism Policy 2015-2020 which puts a strong emphasis on positioning the state as a vibrant tourist destination with an emphasis on improving visitor experience, livelihood linkages, environmental concerns and enhancing investment opportunities, thus catapulting tourism as one of the most important economic drivers, leading to sustainable development and inclusive growth in the State.

The recent developments in the area of Cinematic Tourism will attract more and more projects and investments in the state which will again help highlight the destinations in the state to cater to a wider audience. In August 2016, Govt. of Gujarat has organized Cinematic Tourism Seminar as a part of pre event summit of Vibrant Gujarat 2016.

The state of Gujarat already has numerous heritage palaces and places, which have been shot in various movies in the past like Aamir Khan’s Oscar-nominated ‘Lagaan’ and Filmfare winning ‘Ramleela’.