The Indian Railways is considering building a film city in Kolkata on land owned by it, members of the committee on heritage and culture said here on Wednesday.
“We have a film city in our mind and we are considering several options for land but the final approval for it will come from the railway board,” said Shaonli Mitra, chairman of the committee after the conclusion of its first meeting.
The film city is as yet in the conception stage, Ms. Mitra said adding that a theatre training academy and a theatre complex will be a part of the venture.
The committee wants to strengthen cultural institutions all over the country and is also going to promote the arts by offering jobs to needy and deserving artists.
“There is already a provision for jobs for artists just like the Railways offers jobs to sportsmen, which has not been highlighted so far. But, it will now be given importance,” she said.
The committee, which has a 2-year term includes several personalities from the world of art including filmmaker Rituparna Ghosh, thespians Bibhash Chakraborty, Arpita Ghosh and Ratan Thyiam and musician Ustad Rashid Khan.
On being asked whether the committee had a regional bias, Ms. Mitra said, “As long as we have a national outlook, we will be able to do good work in the fields of art and culture all over the country.”
Dr. S. S. Biswas, president of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and Dr. G. S. Rautela, director general of the National Council of Science Museums will be advising the board on the restoration and upkeep of the several heritage sites owned by the Railways, she added.
