Mumbai :

The UP roadshow was studded with not only business honchos but also stars from Bollywood. A galaxy of cinema icons attended the day-long event and an entire session was devoted to them as chief minister Akhilesh launched the single-window portal of Film Bandhu to facilitate filmmakers.

“Now, film makers need not come all the way to Lucknow just for paper work as to support production of films in the state, the government has facilitated filling up of form from anywhere. They can send it to us and we will respond,” Navneet Sehgal, principal secretary, information and chairman of Film Bandhu, adding “the applications will be cleared in a time-bound manner.”

The session was attended by film personalities including veteran actor Sanjay Khan, producer Boney Kapoor, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Manoj Bajpai, directors Ketan Mehta, Sudhir Mishra and Anurag Kashyap, producer-director Pooja Bhatt and Bhojpuri Ravi Kissan. All the film personalities present on the occasion praised the newly launched initiatives of UP government.

“Filmmaking has become very convenient in UP,” said Sanjay Khan, the first to share his experience, adding, “Now, we find government officials ever ready to help us out.” Boney Kapoor, too, had a similar experience while shooting in the state.

Anurag Kashyap was all praises for Film Bandhu. “It has emerged as a friendly institution for filmmakers,” he said. “The fact that the CM is taking personal interest has come as a great boost for the film industry,” added the director of ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, shot in Mirzapur.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Subhash Mishra, TNN / September 11th, 2015