The jinxed film city!

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

A study on the viability of the film city project, announced recently by Minister for Tourism and Cultural Affairs Navjot Singh Sidhu, is required to be done, said Jasbir Singh Bir, former Director of Cultural Affairs.

The reaction came after actor and comedian Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi sought the government’s commitment on the matter, saying that the project had earlier failed to take off thrice.

It was during Bir’s tenure that the project was first announced by the then CM Beant Singh in 1994. But it failed to see light of the day. In 2006, when he was the Managing Director of CITCO, the UT administration allotted 30 acres in Sarangpur for the project. It was allotted to a party (including noted filmmaker Satish Kaushik) which did not fulfill the conditions in terms of finances and technical expertise. Noted filmmaker Yash Chopra was chairman of a special committee constituted on the matter, which also included comedian Jaspal Bhatti.

In 2011, the Punjab government once again decided to set up the film city in Mohali after clearance from the then Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. The project remained only on paper. Bir felt that the government should first constitute a committee of experts to find out the viability of the project.

Sidhu has maintained that the project is viable in the context of increased demand and potential in the entertainment, gaming and multimedia industry. “The most important issue at the moment is the availability of land. We are considering certain proposals in Kandi areas, which we will discuss with the CM,” he said.