UPGIS: Union Minister for I&B addresses ‘Media & Entertainment—The Indian Digital Growth Story’

Lucknow, Feb 12, 23:

Praising the Yogi Adityanath government for giving equal priority to sports and cinema sectors for inviting investment, Anurag Thakur on Sunday said, “No sector is deprived in Yogi Ji’s rule. With such great support of the state government itself, UP currently is the best investment destination.”

Addressing a session titled, ‘Media & Entertainment—The Indian Digital Growth Story’, Union Minister for I&B, Youth Affairs and Sports on the third day of the UPGIS, Anurag Thakur said, “In a way, UP is going to contribute one-fifth of the country. Be it through medals or films like RRR, sports and cinema are two sectors that break the boundaries of the country and make it proud. I’m thankful to CM Yogi for paying the required attention to both.”

Speaking about PM’s vision of promoting sports and developing sports infrastructure for the athletes, Thakur said that UP is moving ahead to fulfill PM’s vision.

Thakur continued: “When we talk about creative economy in the world, India is the country that produces the maximum number of films. We must encourage film production in unexplored areas.”

Animation, visual effects, gaming and comics is the new emerging sector and we must work towards it as we have a lot of potential not only in production but post production, emphasised the Union Minister.

Lauding the efforts of the UP Government, he said that film shooting in the entire state has not only been made easier but also the subsidies being offered are giving immense encouragement to the budding film makers.

“Jab Sarkar Khud Aap Ka Haath Pakad Kar Chalne Ko Taiyar Hai Toh Peeche Mat Hatiye,” he remarked.

UP has not only dreamt but is also building a grand film city in an area of 1000 acres. The government is also reviving musical gharanas in the state and is simultaneously promoting digital usage, he said.

During the session, Satish Kaushik emphasised on opening of more theatres in the state of Uttar Pradesh having a population of 240 million that gives immense respect to filmmakers and film making.

Sharing his personal experience of shooting in Uttar Pradesh, Director KC Bokadia praised the shooting-friendly environment in UP and particularly in the state capital Lucknow. He expressed gratitude to the team of ‘Film Bandhu’ for all the support and encouragement to the film industry.

Hema Malini said, “I thank Film Bandhu for inviting me and would like to congratulate CM Yogi and the entire administration for organising this summit and for inviting the legends from all the sectors in the summit. UP offers subsidies and has brought into effect many proposals to make filmmaking easier in the state.”

“Even when UP had beautiful locations, shooting wasn’t easy for us actors as there was no atmosphere of security. Today, under CM Yogi’s policy of ‘zero-tolerance’ against crime, the issue has permanently been resolved,” said Malini.

A short film made by ‘Film Bandhu’ showcasing the immense potential for film making in Uttar Pradesh as well as having details about the subsidies given by the government was also screened on the occasion.

The session was attended by Mathura MP Hema Malini, Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishen, KC Bokhadia, Madhur Bhandarkar, Satish Kaushik, and various other dignitaries. Principal Secretary Home, Information and CM, Sanjay Prasad, Director Information, Shishir, among others also remained present.