UP govt to give Rs 2 cr to Muzaffar Ali, Boney Kapoor for shooting Bollywood films in state

Officials said while Boney Kapoor has applied for the grant for shooting his film Tevar — starring his son Arjun Kapoor, Muzaffar Ali has sought the fund for his film Jaanisaar and Pawan Tiwari for Dozakh: In Search of Heaven.

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The amount of incentive to be given depends on the extent of shooting being done in the state. While 70 per cent of Tevar and Jaanisaar have been shot in UP, Dozakh: In Search of Heaven has been completely been shot here. All three are eligible for the incentive of Rs 2 crore.

“The script committee has passed these films for the incentive. Clearance from the finance committee will be received soon. Then it is likely that the films will be cleared by Film Bandhu for cash incentive,” said Principal Secretary Navneet Sehgal, who is also the chairman of Film Bandhu.

Bollywood film “Tevar”, shot extensively in Gokul, Mathura, Fatehpur Sikri and Agra.

In 2014, Akhilesh had announced a cash incentive of Rs 1 crore each to the Madhuri Dixit-starrer Dedh Ishqiya and Saif Ali Khan-starrer Bullet Raja. Earlier, it was necessary to shoot at least 75 per cent of a film in UP to be eligible the Rs 1-crore grant. Now, the amount has been increased to Rs 2 crore and only 50 per cent of the film has to be shot in UP.

“After the amount was increased, nearly 30 films have been shot in UP. We have been flooded with offers for shooting another 40 films in UP. Around 50 queries are received everyday regarding the policy,” Sehgal said, adding that the cheques will be presented in a function where the cast of the three films will be present.

Some prominent names who reportedly have showed interest include Boney Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap, Abhinav Dev and Sudhir Mishra. Several Bhojpuri producers too have lined up for shooting in UP. Due to the low cost of production of Bhojpuri films, maximum incentive has been fixed at 50 per cent of the total cost of the film. “

Earlier, several films were exempted from entertainment tax, making them tax-free in the state. The list includes PK, Mardani, Mary Kom, Bhag Milkha Bhag, Bhootnath Returns, Dedh Ishqiya and Jai Ho among others. The Akhilesh government has also decided to provide land to private promoters to set up two film cities.