Take town

Tollywood gets a state-of-the-art film city

It was an idea born out of recession. A brainwave which, in three months from now, will give India a new state-of-the-art film city — the ‘Purple Movie Town’. Located on the southern fringes of Kolkata, near the suburb of Garia, Purple Movie Town is the brainchild of entrepreneur Pritimoy Chakraborty, the chairperson of the Finesse Group.

The Rs 35-crore project, spread over 5.5 acres, is touted to be second only to the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. And Chakraborty, who launched the venture in 2008 because he “realised that the entertainment industry was the least affected by the economic meltdown”, couldn’t be happier. A letter of appreciation from iconic Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee has only added to his enthusiasm. One of the four studios at the film city is being named ‘Soumitra’s Alcove’ after the stalwart of Bengali cinema.

The blueprint of the project took shape with advice from other Tollywood filmmakers like Gautam Ghose, Anjan Dutta and actor Prasenjit Chatterjee. Three-time National Film Award-winning art director, Nitish Roy, helped with the design. The film city has two studio complexes, Purple I and Purple II, built with special attention to acoustics. About 20 oft-used film sets like the temple, the courtroom, railway station and airport, are also being put in place. While these will be permanent fixtures at the movie town, Roy is also setting up 14 flexible and interchangeable sets. There will also be sound recording, mixing and voice dubbing facilities, and a preview theatre. “We have designed the film city keeping in mind the basic requirement of films in India,” says Roy.

Chakraborty hopes the effort will draw not just filmmakers from Bengal, but also Assamese, Oriya and Bhojpuri directors. The Kolkata film city will be a time-saving and economically-viable option for these filmmakers most of whom rely on Mumbai or the south for their projects. Also on the agenda are television serials and reality shows.

Not willing to rule anything out, Chakraborty says his film city also has scope for Hollywood. “India has always been a sought-after destination for Hollywood filmmakers,” he says. Some Hollywood production houses are expected to visit the venue in November.

Chakraborty says it’s his tribute to the film fraternity “for its contribution in the lives of the common man”. Hence, special areas have been named after special stars. Apart from Soumitra’s Alcove, there is Mithun Nagari, Bumba’s Paradise, Roopa’r Saj Ghar, Satabdi’r Sera Lounge and Rituparna’s Adda.