BENGALURU: Call it ‘Toxic’ film impact. The newly elected Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) president wants all production houses to strictly adhere to rules and regulations of the Forest Act while filming.
M Narasimhulu, who was elected KFCC president on December 14, said that crews of all films intending to shoot in forests and places of biodiversity should mandatorily obtain permission from the forest department and also submit a copy to the film chamber.
Production houses should be careful while shooting in forest areas, he said. “To avoid any controversy in future, members of the film chamber will be directed to furnish a copy of the permission from the forest department. The motive is only to ensure the flora and fauna are not impacted and also that the film team does not get into any legal trouble,” he added.
KFCC members, including producers, directors and exhibitors, will be requested to photograph the place before and after the shoot and submit the copies to the chamber and also the forest department to avoid trouble, he said. He is planning to propose this idea before the executive committee meeting which will be held in a few days.
The move comes after the forest department registered an FIR against the production team of Yash-starrer ‘Toxic’ for felling trees for shooting recently.
Urban conservationist Vijay Nishanth said the law already exists and is very strict. The move by the new KFCC president will doubly ensure that biodiversity is not disturbed.
The move was also welcomed by forest department officials. A deputy conservator of forest said that whoever wants to shoot movies in forests, they have to pay. As there was a controversy over 'Toxic' film shooting, rangers will be asked to make a field inspection till shooting is completed and will be asked to file a status report. , he added.