PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry government's bid to transform the Union territory into a paradise for film shootings has picked up after the relaxation of the lockdown from July 1, with two films having started shooting here.
In the relaxations announced by the government after more than two months of restrictions, film shooting was permitted as long as the number of participants was a maximum of 100 and Covid appropriate behaviour was followed.
Following this, the shooting of director Ravi K Chandran's Malayalam film "Bhramam", starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Rashi Khanna, began on Thursday. Scenes of this social entertainer were shot on the lanes as well as inside a restaurant in the white town area to give the impressions of an European country, said a member of the film’s production team. The film is almost complete and after the end of the last leg of shooting in Puducherry, it is slated for release some time in September.
An untitled web series in Tamil is also being shot in the white town, Chinna Veerampattinam and boat house.
Prior to Covid, film crews had been landing in Puducherry to capture the white town area with its unique French colonial architecture (which resembles a foreign location), beautiful beaches, heritage buildings, palatial houses, the scenic Beach Road, botanical gardens and Bharathi Park, exquisite churches as well as rural settings. Shootings of several Kollywood, Bollywood and even Hollywood films besides web serials and advertisements have been taking place here.
Ever since the worldwide response from tourists through the Oscar winning Hollywood film "Life of Pi", which was shot in 18 locations in the Union territory, the government’s aim has been to promote film shooting in Puducherry and showcase its locations to domestic and international filmmakers.
After this, French and German films were shot in Puducherry. The French film "Believe" directed by Paul Mignot was shot in 20 days in 2013, while the German film "Holy Cow" was also shot here.
According to a rough estimate, more than 500 feature and short films as well as advertisements in Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, French, English and German have been shot in Puducherry till now. Notable films such as "Kannathil Muthamittal", "Rajaparvai", "Varanam Ayiram", "Mounam Pesiathe", "Minnale", "Kadhalil Vizhunthaen", "Mozhi", and "Lessons in Forgetting" were shot here.
Hindi films inclue "Two States" (2014), which was shot in Vysial Street, famous for its classic Hindu-Tamil houses with a bit of European influence, while "Saat Khoon Maaf" (2011) was shot in the beautiful Immaculate Cathedral Church on Mission Street and Aamir Khan’s "Taalash" in the Chunambar Boat Club.
The Union territory which is undergoing a financial crunch believes that film shootings have great potential to not only fetch more revenue for the government, local bodies, hotels and restaurants, but also earn livelihoods for many locals assisting in the shooting.
The government on September 15, 2020 had enhanced the shooting fee per day to Rs 23,000 for films in the municipal limits and Rs 11,500 for web series, TV serials and advertisements to enhance its revenue. Along with GST, the shooting fee comes to around Rs 27,000 for films and Rs 14,000 for TV and advertising films.
The fee is high, says D Kumaran, Puducherry based film shooting location organiser and co-ordinator. In these Covid times, film shooting provides income to not only the support team provided by the Nadigar Sangam but also to hotels, houses, transport staff and others taken on hire. So the rates of shooting should be brought down to pre-Covid times to draw filmmakers, he said.