GECs
Plea for promoting inter-state tourism through films: Locations 2003
MUMBAI: Locations 2003, the world’s first film tourism event, which brought together the Indian film industry and global Locations organisations to promote film tourism, concluded yesterday in Mumbai.
The morning session commenced with a panel discussion on domestic tourism and the role of regional cinema and the Indian states in promoting it via subsidised film production. The panel comprised India Tourism Development Cooperation (ITDC) general manager Kuldeep Verma, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board managing directo Dr A Jayathilak and film maker Dr Jabbar Patel.
“Tourism is a smokeless industry and the revenue it can generate is very high. Employment opportunities are also very high compared to any other industry,” said Verma. “Last year, compared to the 205 million foreign tourists, there were 210 million domestic tourists in India. So the idea emerged that why not do something within the country rather than on foreign locations,” he said.
Bollywood has played a pivotal role in flaunting locales from Europe and down under, which helps in boosting the tourism industry of these countries. The panel opined that if films are shot in and around Indian states it could do wonders to the overall tourism trade in the country.
Jayathilak stressed on the point that interstate tourism is not well-documented in our country. “Regional cinema here still has language barriers, so the onus lies on the Hindi film fraternity to shoot movies all over India,” he said.
Jayathilak added, “The Jammu and Kashmir government gives a subsidy of Rs 10 million to film producers, if 100 per cent of a film is being shot in the state. Likewise, the UP and Goa governments gives a subsidy of Rs 7.5 million and Rs 2.5 million respectively, if 50 per cent of their film is shot in these states. This, however, cannot be implemented in Maharashtra as most movies are shot here and the subsidy amount would go up to hundreds of millions of rupees.”
Film marketing consultant Shanjoy Bhattacharjii said, “Maharashtra has to offer good benefits to producers otherwise they will go to other cities or even to foreign countries because they offer good incentives.” Speaking about foreign countries he said, “The Singapore tourism board offers free stay and free tickets to film producers so as to lure them to come more often to their country. They have realised that such attractive offers can account for a boom in the tourism trade of their country.”
Bhattacharjii also said, “Although the film industry has been declared an ‘industry’ in our country, it hasn’t been given that much of importance vis-a-vis industries like textiles, IT, electronics, steel etc.” He said there should be a provision of the best infrastructure and streamlining of things by implementing the ‘single window’ system.
The countries that participated in Locations 2003 were Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Germany.
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
