JAIPUR. The Pink City which is trying to set up a film city to encourage
film production, got a shot in the arm with the first ever muhurat of a
film here.
The muhurat shot of Venus Production's yet untitled film was taken at
Raj Mahal Palace Hotel with Amisha Patel and
Bobby Deol depicting a
scene. Akshay Khanna, Prithvi Kapoor, Ashita and Suhasini Mulay of
Bhuwan Shome fame are the other star cast in the movie.
Film producers have been shooting in the state particularly in Jaipur
for last half a century, but it was for the first time that the muhurat
of a Bollywood movie was done here.
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The producers of the movie hail from Rajasthan, but the inspiration to
shoot the film in Jaipur came from the director-duo Abbas-Mastaan, who
barely a month ago shot a Kareena Kapoor-Bobby Deol starrer Ajnabee
here.
About half a dozen movies have been lined to be shot in the state. Boney
Kapoor is already shooting a film near Jodhpur starring Shahrukh Khan
and Karishma Kapoor.
The Venus production movie's story line revolve around Bobby Deol and
Amisha Patel. Its a love story where the girl weigh love above wealth
despite family opposition.
Amisha, who has two super hits Kaho Na Pyaar Hai and
"Gadar"
behind her, said she was fascinated with the theme of the film and
immediately jumped at the idea of doing the film because of its strong
story line.
She said the success of Gadar, a period film has forced the Bollywood
producers to think in terms of choosing the right story as the viewers'
taste has undergone a change.
"Now nobody can take the cinegoers for ride. The film should not
only entertain it should also hold the viewers with a strong theme"
said Amisha.
The state government has formed a committee with Surendra Golcha, Mor
Mukut, Mahendra Surana and the secretary tourism Lalit Panwar. This
committee will study the prospects of setting up a film city offering
incentives to the producers. The Jaipur Development Authority has
already earmarked land about 12 km from here on Jaipur-Agra national
highway.
According to Golcha the muhurat of a Bollywood film in the Pink City is
a happy occasion as it would pave the way for attracting more producers
to shoot in Rajasthan.
But Ummed Jain, one of the producer and director of Venus Records and
Tapes, a leader in the recorded music industry, said the attitude of
heritage property owners in Jaipur has baffled him. He said they have an
un professional attitude and they do not stick to the business promises
made with the producers. He said for hiring Raj Mahal for shooting the
muhurat shot he was offered a different package, but when he decided to
shoot the movie in Raj Mahal he was asked to pay a higher price as
rentals. he said as the unit landed in Jaipur he had no option but to
accept the terms of the company which runs Raj Mahal.
Jain said such attitude would not help the cause of Jaipur to set up a
film city here.
