Telangana: CM Revanth urged to cut shooting location rates

The Tollywood industry bigwigs will be requesting Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to reduce rates for film shootings in government premises in Telangana since they are quite expensive right now. "No doubt, Andhra Pradesh is much cheaper and offers public locations free of cost for film shootings unlike in Telangana state,” says producer-director Teja who feels that more shootings could move to Andhra Pradesh.“Filmmakers have to just pay Rs 1000 as document charges to APFDC for getting permission to shoot in parks, flyovers, streets, hospitals, dams, and highways. Whereas, no such luck in Telangana state and particularly in Hyderabad city where costs are a bit exorbitant,” he adds.With shooting charges ranging between Rs 15,000 and Rs 3, 00,000 per day for various locations in Telangana state, Telugu film producers are a worried lot. They have to earmark anywhere between Rs 15 to Rs 35 lakhs from their budgets for each film just for location fees which is surely pinching their pockets Adding to their woes, seeking permission from various government departments is another arduous task, so producers are migrating to other States to shoot their films.Admitting the same, a Telangana-based producer, on condition of anonymity says, “In Telangana state, the location charges have shot up drastically in the last few years. Similarly, T Hub charges Rs 2 lakh per day even for a small budget film,” he points out.Although a single window system is in operation in Telangana, there are a few issues with local police while shooting at public places.