Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh was briefed here about the proposed Film City in Sikkim by a team of senior officers of the State Government of Sikkim including Chairperson, Sikkim Film Promotion Board, Department of Information, Pooja Sharma and Resident Commissioner, Ashwani Kumar Chand.As per the proposal, the Government of Sikkim has decided to set up a Film City Complex in the vicinity of the capital city of Gangtok in an area measuring over 10 acres. The Film City Complex envisages an Acting School, different kinds of Film Sets as well as Artificial Sets, Ramps for fashion events, Miniplex Cinema, Amphi Theatre, Mobile Theatre, Concert Halls, Recreation Park, Editing Studios, Sound Studios, etc.Appreciating the initiative taken by the State Government, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, Sikkim, like Kashmir, has picturesque locations to offer for film shooting. He said, the versatility of Sikkim's scenic beauty has attracted Film makers right from the beginning and leading film personalities like Dev Anand preferred Sikkim as one of the favourite locations and had gone to the extent of shooting the maximum portion of the blockbuster all-time hit “Jewel Thief” in Sikkim.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said, several desirable locations in Northeast, particularly in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, have remained under-utilised because of lack of infrastructure and lack of provision to place the required equipment. He said, the Modi government has sanctioned a Film and Television Institute for Arunachal Pradesh and with the coming up of a Film City in Sikkim, it will be possible to overcome the shortcomings which discouraged Filmmakers to use these locations even when they were willing to do so.Not only this, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, movies shot at domestic locations instead of foreign locations, can help introduce the audience across the country to the diversity and unique features of different locations in India. This does not only help boost the domestic tourism within the country by showcasing attractive destinations which are in no way less than the European destinations, but it also helps to serve the cause of “Vocal for Local”, he said.The State Government team also briefed the Minister about the plan to hold a Global Film Festival at Sikkim in the month of April, this year. The four-day festival is expected to provide an international platform for the film fraternity including professional Filmmakers, film enthusiasts and film/media students.The DoNER Minister appreciated the proposals and said, he was in regular touch with Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang.