Why can’t film shooting be allowed around the Vidhana Soudha or the Karnataka High Court on holidays and weekends, Information Minister R. Roshan Baig sought to know while batting for a more “liberal”, single-window clearance system to shoot movies in the State.
After chairing a meeting with various senior department heads and representatives from the film industry here on Tuesday, he said that film producers felt “harassed” while seeking permission for shoots in Karnataka because of multiple hurdles from various departments unlike in other States and even countries abroad.
He said that another round of meeting would be held with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah soon before arriving at a policy to ensure a single-window clearance system for film shooting.
The Minister said that film shoots in Bangalore had declined over the years because producers had to seek permission from various departments. He said that countries such as Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates gave filmmakers an “open-hearted welcome” for shooting unlike Karnataka where the atmosphere was “hostile and cumbersome”.
‘They showcase city’He said the Vidhana Soudha and the High Court “showcase Bangalore”, and were recognised anywhere in the world. The rule on not allowing shooting within a 4-km radius of the seat of power “for reasons best known to them” could be relaxed, he argued. “I’m not suggesting we should allow shooting in the Banquet Hall, but why not around the Vidhana Soudha on holidays without causing any hindrance to work or inconveniencing people?”
The Minister said that senior officials of the departments of Police, Transport, Forests, Archaeology, and Irrigation, members of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and senior directors, including Rajendra Singh Babu, were present.
