Mumbai: Since the death of Rajput in June, Bollywood has been facing a barrage of allegations. Even the Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said efforts to malign and finish off the Bollywood industry or to shift it will not be tolerated.
Thackeray's statement came against the backdrop of investigation by multiple agencies into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death and its media coverage which was seen by some as an unhurried campaign to target the film industry. The primary investigations before the CBI’s (Central Bureau of Investigation) arrival had revealed a drug angle in Sushant’s case, which is now being probed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also present in the investigations. This has prompted some to see it as a conflict between the state and the Centre.
It didn’t stop there, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut locked horns with Maharashtra's ruling Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut after the actress said that she felt unsafe in Mumbai after Sushant Singh Rajput's demise and that she feared Mumbai police more than ‘movie mafias’.
Now, after announcing plans to set up a film city in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is taking additional efforts to encourage investments from the film industry. The senior BJP leader now plans to interact with celebrities of the film industry on Wednesday for various initiatives.
In the wake of Yogi Adityanath’s proposed Mumbai visit, the Congress has alleged it as Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) conspiracy to take Bollywood away from Mumbai to the northern state.
Many are expressing their strong resolve not allowing this to happen under any conditions.
Maharashtra PWD Minister Ashok Chavan alleged the BJP is planning to move Bollywood. Chavan on his Twitter wrote, “When BJP was in power in Maharashtra, many industries and offices were shifted to Gujarat. Though the government changed in the state, the BJP is now readying a script to take away a slice of Bollywood in the name of the Uttar Pradesh government.
In September, the government of UP announced that it is planning to create India’s ‘biggest and most beautiful film city’ in Gautam Buddh Nagar. An official statement issued in September read, "The CM, while addressing a review meeting, announced to set up the biggest and most beautiful film city of the country in Gautam Buddh Nagar. He instructed officials to search for a suitable land in or around Noida, Greater Noida or Yamuna Expressway and prepare an action plan.”
This is not the first time; Yogi has held meeting with personalities from Bollywood. Previously, he held a meeting in Lucknow in September where Anupam Kher and Udit Narayan were among the attendees.
Yogi had earlier unveiled an ambitious plan to set up a film city in Lucknow. The CM had sought suggestions from representatives of the film industry for the 'new city', on which the giants of the industry had provided their suggestions to the Yamuna Authority. The authorities too too had sought the facility of sound mixing studio, special effects, video editing to name a few. The luxurious tech-savy studio was also suggested to be constructed as the shooting for any film can be done and it can be changed according to the need.
Under the new film policy in UP, the government gives financial assistance of up to Rs two crore to films shot in the state.