The Shiv Sena today attacked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his attempts to reach out to Bollywood to make movies in his state on a day-long visit to Mumbai.
"It is not easy to shift Mumbai's film city to another place. The film industry in south India is also big. There are film cities in West Bengal and Punjab, too. Will Yogi ji visit these places, too, and talk to directors and artistes there? Or is he going to do it only in Mumbai?" Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut asked today in Mumbai, according to ANI.
Mr Raut's statements come on a day when Mr Adityanath is set to meet a delegation of Bollywood personalities, including filmmaker Subhash Ghai and Boney Kapoor, to discuss the future of a proposed film city in his state. In September, he had unveiled an ambitious plan to set up a film city in Gautam Buddh Nagar, PTI reported. The government has reportedly approved such a large facility in Sector 21 along the Yamuna Expressway.
His visit to Mumbai is also aimed at seeking investments from Mumbai-based firms for Uttar Pradesh's development. Early Wednesday morning, he rang the opening bell at BSE, marking the listing of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation bond.
Chief Minister Adityanath, who arrived in Mumbai Tuesday evening, has already met artistes like Kailash Kher and actor Akshay Kumar. "We want to build a world-class film city in Uttar Pradesh. We held discussions with several producers, directors, actors and other experts related to film industry in this regard," the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister was quoted as saying by news agency ANI today.
Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar meeting Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Mumbai on Tuesday.
His visit has drawn fire from other parties of Maharashtra, too.
For instance, the Congress on Tuesday alleged a conspiracy to shift Bollywood to the northern state. "...the BJP is now readying a script to take away a slice of Bollywood in the name of the Uttar Pradesh government...we won't let it happen..." Maharashtra PWD Minister Ashok Chavan tweeted.
On his part, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said that though every state had the right to develop its industry, nobody could take Bollywood away from Mumbai.
"Yogi ji may be coming here to study the film city and facilities being provided to the industry, but nobody can take the film city and its glamour away from Mumbai," Mr Patil told reporters in Mumbai.
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