SACHIN CHITNIS, MUMBAI
“It is India’s time; everyone knows it globally” – stated actor Bhumi Pednekar in a panel discussion titled ‘Lights, Camera, Destination! Branding India Through Films’ at WAVES 2025 in Mumbai today.
The other panellists in the discussion included Shri Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary (I&B) and MD, NFDC, Shri Nitin Tej Ahuja, CEO, Producers Guild, Shri Rajender Kumar, Secretary (Tourism), Government of Gujarat, Mugdha Sinha, MD, ITDC.
Shri Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary (I&B) and MD, NFDC, informed that the India Cine Hub (ICH) set up by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting promotes and facilitates film shootings in India for global film makers and producers. He said that it is a one-stop destination for filming in India, which also has links to various state portals for film facilitation. It acts as a single-window facilitation and clearance mechanism that eases filming in India, as well as endeavouring to create a film-friendly ecosystem and promoting the country as a filming destination. The incentives have been upscaled in 2023 and as a result, business multiplied tenfold and more than hundred applications expressing to shoot in India has been received in the portal. These incentives made India an attractive shooting destination for foreign film makers.
Bhumi Padnekar said that a lot of foreign productions are going to come to India in the coming days. “People in many parts of the world know about Mumbai because of our cinema”, she added. Speaking about her preference for shooting in destinations around India, Bhumi Pednekar said, “Most of my films are in culturally dense, heartland films. Our jaazba and love for our cinema, the way our cast and crew work with dedication, is incomparable”.
Throwing light on the film industry in India, Bhumi Pednekar remarked that film sets now have almost equal number of men and women working in it. The gentry people coming in filmmaking in India is only getting better, she added.
Nitin Tej Ahuja said that many locations from popular films have become popular tourist destinations in India. The ‘Bobby’ bungalow in Gulmarg, yellow mustard fields in Punjab popularized by DDLJ, Ratlam to Bhathinda train journey showcased in ‘Jab Me Met’, Pangong lake where scenes from ‘Three Idiots’ were shot are some such examples. Youngsters in India had started travelling to Goa in group of friends ever since ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ released, he added.
Mugdha Sinha, MD, ITDC, opined that the country may think of opening our institutions for film shooting. She stated that it is the most opportune time for film making and tourism in the country. Rajender Kumar, Secretary (Tourism), Government of Gujarat, spoke about initiatives taken by the Government of Gujarat to promote tourism through films shot in Gujarat, like mentioning in the credit lines the place where shooting took place. Positive policy paradigms, good infrastructure and ease of obtaining permission for shooting are attracting film makers to the state, he added.
The session was moderated by Supriya Suri, Founder, Creative Economy Forum.
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