Hindi
LA India Film Council proposes setting up Film Commissions in India
MUMBAI: The LA India Film Council has proposed to set-up of Film Commissions in India and also its operational framework at a national and state level. In its latest report titled – Unleashing the power of film tourism: the first step – LA India Film Council has highlighted India’s potential to become a preferred film shooting destination.
The role of a Film Commission is to serve as a local government liaison, to provide and coordinate public and private services for film shoots, attract foreign productions to India, create a sustainable ecosystem that benefits both international productions and the local economy through effective film incentive programs and promote film tourism.
The report also assessed the current single window clearance mechanism for film shooting, recommended solutions to build a strong production tax regime in the country and highlighted global best practices to promote film tourism in the country.
India has natural advantages in terms of scenic locations, incredible cultural diversity, trained film crews and low production costs to attract film productions. The current Single Window Clearance Mechanism to support productions is a welcome step by the film industry, however multiple challenges faced during the clearance process at the regulatory and administrative level – including procedural hurdles during the application stage – undermine the potential of film production and its allied industries to grow.
In 2014, the media and entertainment industry was recognized as one of the top 25 sectors in the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Transforming India into a global film-shooting destination will require establishing an effective single window clearance system to simplify and expedite flow of information between various government bodies and the industry in an efficient and resourceful manner.
MPA, Asia Pacific president and managing director Mike Ellis said, “India’s film and television industry is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the country, and there has been a renewed surge of investment into the country by global companies. Simplification of clearance procedures for film shooting, support to productions through a robust tax incentive regime, and adopting global best practices, will help to attract big budget productions and in turn boost inbound tourism.”
Film & Television Producers’ Guild of India (FTPGI) president Mukesh Bhatt added, “A Film Commission should be an independent full time body and involve participation from film industry stakeholders who have the experience and understand the film making process. Moreover, it would really help if the members of the Film Commission were compensated either project-wise or on payroll. This would ensure active participation by members.”
U.S. Consul General Thomas L. Vajda opined, “There is great potential for expanded collaboration between our film and entertainment industries. Whether it is Indian studios shooting in the United States, US studios filming here in India, developing strategies for intellectual property protection, or sharing knowledge on production methods and technologies, both countries can benefit from efforts to bring our film and entertainment industries closer together. We look forward to working with partners here in India to provide knowhow, experience, and whatever other value we can to take this relationship forward.”
Consul General Canada, Mumbai Richard Bale asserted, “With Canada and India having signed a bilateral Audio-Visual Co-Production Agreement in 2014, India has a wonderful opportunity to attract Canadian producers and directors to shoot in India. Improving the ease of doing business in the film sector through the establishment of Films Commissions and a transparent framework of incentives would be very effective next steps for India to build on the new interest in India among Canadian filmmakers.”
FICCI president Jyostna Suri opined, “Our country has a vast wealth of spectacular terrain and it is important that we explore and exhaust avenues of locale shooting for entertainment with state governments as our partners. This can only happen in the true spirit of a public-private model. Through effective film tourism and enhancing our locales, we will lay strong foundations for India as the most dynamic destination for international stakeholders, generating local revenues and jobs and providing on-the-job skills for the workforce.”
Setup in 2010 by a joint declaration between the City of Los Angeles and the Indian film industry, the Council continues to provide new platforms to foster knowledge exchange and partnerships between stakeholders in the US and the Indian media and entertainment industries.
In a music industry that often rewards speed, spectacle, and instant recall, Navjot Ahuja’s journey feels refreshingly different. His story is not built on noise. It is built on patience, discipline, emotional honesty, and a quiet commitment to becoming better with every passing year. After 14 years of struggle, learning, performing, and writing, Navjot stands today as an artist whose success has not changed his centre. If anything, it has only made his purpose clearer.
For Navjot, music has never been about chasing fame alone. It has always been about expression. It is about writing more truthfully, singing more skillfully, understanding himself more deeply, and becoming a kinder human being in the process. That rare clarity is what gives his journey its beauty.
Where It All Began: A Writer Before a Singer
Indian singer and songwriter Navjot Ahuja’s musical journey began in the most familiar of places: school assemblies. But even then, what was growing inside him was not only the desire to sing. It was the need to write.
Long before he saw himself as a performer, he had already discovered the emotional release that writing offered him. For Navjot, words became the first true channel for feeling. Songwriting came before singing because writing was the only way he could let emotions flow through him fully. That inner pull shaped his artistic identity early on.
Like many young musicians, he sharpened his craft by creating renditions of popular songs.
Those experiments became his training ground. But the turning point came in 2012, when he wrote his first original song. That moment did not just mark the beginning of songwriting. It marked the beginning of self-definition.
A Calling He Did Not Chase, But Accepted
What makes the latest Indian singer-songwriter Navjot’s story especially compelling is the way he describes his relationship with music. He does not frame it as a career he aggressively pursued. In his own understanding, music was not something he chose. It was something that chose him.
There was a time when he imagined a very different future for himself. He wanted to become a successful engineer, like many young people shaped by ambition and conventional expectations. But life had a different script waiting for him. During his college years, around 2021, music entered his life professionally and began taking a firmer shape.
That shift was not driven by image-building or industry ambition. It came from acceptance. Navjot embraced the fact that music had claimed him in a way no other path could. That sense of surrender continues to define the artist he is today.
An Artist Guided by Instinct, Not Influence
Unlike many singers who speak openly about idols, icons, and musical role models, Navjot’s creative world is built differently. He does not believe his music comes from imitation or inherited influence. He listens inward.
He has never considered himself shaped by ideals in the traditional sense. In fact, he admits that he does not particularly enjoy listening to songs, especially his own. His decisions as a songwriter and singer come from instinct. He writes what feels right. He trusts what his inner voice tells him. He positions his music according to what he honestly believes in, not what trends demand.
That creative independence gives his work a distinct emotional sincerity. His songs do not feel calculated. They feel alive.
The Long Years of Invisible Struggle
Every artist carries a chapter of struggle, and Navjot’s was long, demanding, and deeply formative. One of the biggest challenges he faced was building continuity as the best new indian singer songwriter in an era where musical collaboration is increasingly fluid.
For emerging singers, especially those trying to build with a band, consistency can be difficult. Instrumentalists today have more opportunities than ever to freelance and perform with multiple artists. While that growth is positive and well deserved, it can make things harder for singers who are still trying to establish a steady team and sound around their work.
For Navjot, one of the most difficult phases came during 2021 and 2022, when he was doing club shows almost every day. It was a period of relentless performance, but not always personal fulfillment. He was largely singing covers because clubs were not open to original songs that audiences did not yet know.
For a new Indian singer and songwriter, that can be a painful compromise. To perform constantly and still not have the freedom to share your own voice requires not just resilience, but restraint.
“Khat” and the Grace of Staying Unchanged
After 14 years of effort, Navjot’s new love song Khat became a defining milestone. Professionally, he acknowledges that the song changed how society viewed him as a musician. It strengthened his place in the public eye and altered his standing in meaningful ways.
Yet personally, he remains unchanged.
That is perhaps the most striking part of his story. Navjot says his routine is still the same. His calm is still the same. His writing process is still the same. He does not want success or failure to interfere with the purity of his art. For him, emotional detachment from public outcomes is essential because the moment an artist becomes too attached to validation, the writing begins to shift.
His joy comes not from numbers, but from the attempt. If he has tried to improve his skill today, if he has written his heart out more honestly than before, then he is at peace.
Growth, Not Glory, Remains the Real Goal
Even now, Navjot is not consumed by labels such as singles artist, performer, or digital success story. His focus remains deeply personal. He wants to sing better. He wants to play instruments better. He wants to understand himself more. And he wants to become a kinder person.
That is what makes Navjot Ahuja’s journey so moving. It is not simply the story of a musician finding recognition. It is the story of an artist who continues to grow inward, even as the world begins to look outward at him. In an age obsessed with applause, Navjot reminds us that the most meaningful success often begins in silence, honesty, and the courage to remain true to oneself.
