Siliguri,
April 14: Destination Dooars. That's where filmmakers scouting for
shooting locales are thronging. And the West Bengal Tourism Development
Corporation is ready to woo them with custom-made package.
`Of late, the focus of filmmakers
has shifted to the Dooars. With the region getting more visibility
in films, we are being flooded with queries from tourists who insist
on staying at the same place where scenes of the movies have been
shot,` said Subrata Sengupta, the deputy general manager, north
zone.
Giving back to the filmmakers for the promotion of the region through
their works, the tourism development corporation, has decided to
help the crews with packages designed to cater to individual needs
and at the same time provide all other support they may require.
`Movies have a profound impact on holiday plans of tourists
and that is why we want to woo filmmakers to this region, particularly
to the lesser known areas,` Sengupta said.
Filmmakers do not like being confined to one particular area for
all their shooting requirements. We will design packages on the
basis of the requirement of a team. We will not only have accommodation
booked for them everywhere the crew goes, but also provide them
with all logistical support. In places where we do not have tourist
lodges, we will book private properties for them. Since they make
bulk bookings, we will offer them discounted rates as well,`
the north zone general manager added.
Dooars emerged from the shadow of Darjeeling and Gangtok and found
itself on the tourist map only after filmmakers discovered the immense
prospects of the region and gave viewers a feel of it.
Filmmakers like Gautam Ghose, Raja Sen and Aparna Sen have used
the lush locales as the backdrop of their films. The trend has become
more marked after the success of Aparna Sen's Mr and Mrs Iyer, which
bagged two national awards last year.
`Compared to Darjeeling, which is over-exposed, the Dooars
region has a virgin charm. If the tourism department promotes film
shoots, it will be welcome,` national-award-winning Tollywood
director Panna Hussain told The Telegraph from Calcutta.
Hussain will head for the Dooars on April 25 to shoot his next
film Tarpor Brishti Elo on the banks of the Teesta and in a hidden
Dooars hamlet.`Such a move will help, but the government should promote more
properties, because several places where shootings can be carried
out do not have lodges to stay,` Hussain said.
Kingshuk Dey, the vice-principal of the North Bengal Institute
of Film Technology and a Siliguri-born Calcutta-based film director,
also spoke highly of the photogenic region. `The region is beautiful, lesser known, and available free
of cost for shooting. There are no guild systems to prevent filmmaker
from choosing their own workers. That is why people like to shoot
films here. With better facilities, the numbers will rise further,`
he said.
Dey will shoot his next film, based on world terrorism, in the
jungles of the Dooars.
Courtesy
The Telegraph |
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