Film City: Minister holds discussions

The ambitious project mooted by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC), the setting up of a Film City and an amusement park in Thiruvananthapuram, has got another fillip.

Minister for Cinema, K B Ganesh Kumar, recently held discussions with the representatives of the Hollywood Studios and  Universal Studios theme parks, regarding the technical aspects of the project. The paper work for floating a global tender for the construction of the studio is underway, the Minister told Express.

“The initial procedure for setting up the Film City in 50 acres of land under the Chitranjali Studio, a unit of KSFDC, is under progress. We hope that the project will have a take off  by the end of the year,” the Minister said.

 The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation has already begun the feasibility study for the project, that includes the construction of the Film City and an amusement park. The state-of-the-art studio would be constructed on a public-private-partnership mode.

Ganesh also said the Ministry is  giving priority to upgrade the standards of the KSFDC-run theatres. “We have already started the reconstruction work of Kairali, Sree and Kalabhavan theatres in Thiruvanthapuram. The foundation stone has already been laid for the theatre complex at Alappuzha. We will set an example that will prompt the theatre owners to improve the existing facilities so as to attract more people to cinema halls,” Ganesh added.

Regarding the introduction of ticketing machines in the cinema halls across the state, the Minister said that the facility will be installed before the end of the year.

“The facility will be controlled and managed by Keltron, on behalf of the government. The machines are all ready. But for installing the system in all theatres, we need an amendment of the Entertainment Clause under the existing Panchayat Act. We hope that the Ministry for Urban development will soon amend the Act,“ the Minister said.

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