International
Film fest in Panaji ?
Sandesh Prabhudesai
8 July 2003
Goa could start hosting international film festival from
December next year, provided Panaji, the state's capital city,
is selected as the permanent venue.
The key advisory group, led by film personalities like Yash
Chopra and Subhash Ghai, however favour one of the two coastal
sites - one in the South and another one in the northern belt.
Aguada plateau, located on a hilltop behind the Taj Group
of Hotels in north Goa and Cavelossim, adjacent to the Leela
Palace Beach Resorts in the south, are the two locations short-listed
after the team visited altogether five coastal sites.
The key advisory group is expected to finalise the site by
the month end, after considering all the requisites. Goa is
selected the permanent venue for
the international film festivals, held in India.
"We could host the festival by December next year if
Panaji is the venue", opines chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
He represents Panaji constituency.
The basic requisites listed out by the group of experts are
the infrastructure, floating population, local ambience, communication
facilities, scenic beauty, recreational and cultural facilities,
commerce and availability of land.
Chopra, Chairman FICCI and a veteran film director, appears
to be in favour of a venue in South Goa, along the coastal
area. "Rather than depending on the road transport, Goa
should promote hovercraft facilities to commute the people
through the sea route to the film fest venue", he suggests.
Ghai, another veteran from the Bollywood, feels that besides
the cinema halls and convention halls, the locations should
maintain Goan ambience. "The visitors should be given
a traditional feel", he stated at the first key advisory
group meet held in the state.
Though he would go by the decision of the group, Parrikar
personally favours his beloved Panaji, since the venue could
be developed with mere upgradation of the Kala Academy complex
with three theatres and the two existing cinema halls.
"The only work remains is to build two multiplexes behind
the old Goa Medical College complex and a convention centre
at Patto Plaza", he quips. The old GMC building could
be renovated as the film market, by preserving its unique
Portuguese architecture, he adds.
On the contrary, any other place requires total set up that
requires to be constructed afresh, except the availability
of the resorts and hotels available at the short-listed two
venues. He fears this work may not be completed by December
next year.
Though the state officials had earlier selected sites close
to the five star hotels in the south and the north, the group
members pointed out that hardly 10 per cent of the visitors
would require such facility. The other artists and technicians
need to accommodated in simple hotels, lodgings and rent-back
facilities.
Both the Candolim-Calangute belt in the North and Cavelossim
belt in the south provide enough number of five star hotels
with around 300 beds and small hotels for rest of the kind
of visitors, around 3000 to 5000 to begin with.
The venue is also being selected from the point of floating
population, commercial viability and round-the-year activity
that could generate revenue for the venue during rest of the
time, when no international film festival is held.
The meeting, held two days ago, was also attended by Anjuly
Duggal, joint secretary, Films, Government of India, Bobby
Bedi, Kaleidoscope Ltd., Neelam Kapoor, Director Films Festival
and Meera Tshering, Director, representing the Government
of India, besides local ministers and officials.
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