Goa proposes to reduce permission hassles for film producers

Goa government wants to smoothen the process of permission sought by filmmakers to shoot their films in the state by proposing a single window facility to fix various problems that they have to face.
The state government-run Entertainment Society of Goa has been made the nodal agency for providing single window facility to the film producers to shoot in the state.
Various films, especially recent Bollywood flicks like "Aashiqui 2" and "Singham", besides TV reality shows and tele serials have been shot here.
A list of possible film shooting destinations, including beaches, heritage houses, parks, forts and even road side spots would be listed with the ESG, its general manager Sripad Naik told PTI today.

The ESG has proposed to sign a memorandum of understanding with the owners of these properties so that the permission for the shooting can be taken through ESG, sparing the filmmaker from approaching the individual owner.
The beach locations are property of state tourism department, while parks are owned by local civic bodies and panchayats, he said.

As of now, the producers have to approach individually the property owners if they have to shoot there.
"There is a thought process that a legislation can be enacted wherein ESG will have a right to enter into an MoU with the property owners and through ESG the permission can be granted by approaching the owners," he said.

During the current year, 101 film shooting permissions have been granted by ESG, which is more compared to the last year's figure of 80 and 79 for 2011.