Now Goa is hot ‘shooting’ spot 

PANJIM,  MAY 8  — Goa  is  turning  out to  be  a hot ‘shot’ destination as film shootings in the State are on the rise over the last two and a half years.
What began with a figure  of  10 in the early 2005  and 40 in 2006  has  now touched 93 between January  2007  till date.
No doubt Goa has always attracted film producers for its silver beaches and enchanting hinterland. Sources say the trigger for the spurt may have been the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which Goa began to host from 2004.

The Entertainment  Society of  Goa (ESG)  has  also added  to its kitty  as much as Rs 21  lakh from the permissions granted for film  shootings in the last two years.

While not too many Hollywood film  shootings figure in the list of permissions granted, the  ESG disclosed  that the State is attaining popularity as a film shooting destination for Bollywood and regional films.

Interestingly, the corporate sector is  also turning to Goa’s ambience for producing their  advertisements. The ESG has granted maximum permissions for  advertisement shootings followed by feature films, documentary  films, music videos and photo shoots.

More interesting, Panjim city is the first choice for most of the film shootings in addition to  the beaches  of  Goa  and historical sites.

Sources at the ESG also  disclosed  that the  old GMC  building  is also in demand and nearly  20 film shootings have focused on this heritage building. 
Producers have not hesitated to  pay Rs 12,000 as fees for  use  of the old Goa Medical College complex which is in addition to the  regular fee of  Rs 6,000 per  day. Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) also charges some fee for  shootings  in Panjim.

ESG  Film Programmer  Milind Joshi said, “We are also getting an overwhelming response to the ‘Film Goa’  concept  which is a one  stop shop in a compact disc  identifying prominent locations for film shooting in Goa.”

According to   Joshi, film producers  from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka  have shown keen interest in shooting their regional films set against a Goan backdrop.
Joshi also revealed that Goa’s  growing identity  as a film shooting  city is keeping the ESG on its toes as  many cameras roll without permissions  compelling the  authorities  to  conduct  raids and inspections to verify  documentations.
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