Yash Chopra may put up media centre in Chandigarh

Well-known Bollywood director Yash Chopra, who hails from Punjab, has shot many films in and around Chandigarh. But now he wants to bring up a media centre and acting classes here.

"An institute of training for technical and non-technical skills for film production could play a vital role in discovering the talent in the northern region," said Chopra.

Chandigarh as a business town drew corporate attention as an alternative to Bangalore and Hyderabad about four years ago. Various projects have been envisaged to promote the town as a business hub of the north. Information technology and real estate have taken centre stage in the development of the region.

According to Chopra, the production of television programmes is an avenue that can absorb young talent in large numbers. So the training institutes were indispensable for supplying trained manpower in the entertainment business, he added.

Referring to his rendezvous with the Union Territory of Chandigarh Administrator F Rodrigues as fruitful, Chopra was optimistic of getting some concrete response from the Chandigarh administration on his proposal by the end of the year.

Chopra ruled out private investment from his fraternity in the proposed project. But a senior official in the administration told Business Standard the Administration could help in getting the site and the rest of the investment would be funded by private partners.

The Chandigarh administration has earmarked 10 acres at village Sarangpur for a film city project. Of the four bidders (Parsavnath, DLF, KRBL and EMAAR MGF), one will be finalised by mid-December.

More than six big budget films were shot in and around Chandigarh last year.