Cashing in on the growing entertainment industry, Kerala has decided to woo the film crews and movie buffs across the globe to the State by promoting the film locales featured in various films in Malayalam and other regional languages in the country.
Titled “Promoting Film Locations in Kerala,” the State has accorded permission to promote the locales with a view to tapping film-induced tourism and destination branding based on destinations featured in movies.
As part of the project, Kerala Tourism will make promotional videos of locales that shot to fame through movies and promote them through various social media platforms. For instance, the Kerala Tourism app will offer an augmented reality of the places to the holidayers visiting such places by instantly making available the film clips to the guests on visit. In fact, various countries are promoting their locales in collaboration with production houses by providing tax benefits and incentives.
“We have certain limitations in providing tax benefits and incentives for the big production houses. But we do have an array of beautiful locations that were even featured in popular Bollywood and South Indian movies. Promoting videos of the locales clubbed with movie clips would allow the global entertainment industry to identify the potential of some of the locales in the State,” said a senior Tourism department officer. The department would make promotional videos of 10 such locations in Kerala in the first phase.
The locations identified in the list included famed Athirappilly waterfall and its surroundings, featured in an array of films ranging from Baahubali to Dilse, Bhramaram Viewpoint, a popular tourist spot at Kanthalloor featured in Bhramaram, the cave at Cheruthoni in Idukki where the legendary director Bharathan shot the furtive meeting of Rishyasringan and Vaishali in the popular flick Vaishali, Bekal Fort in Kasaragod, where Mani Ratnam shot the popular song Uyire... for his movie Bombay, Kollengode, a postcard village in Palakkad which enlivened the creativity of an array of film makers in Mollywood .. etc. would be filmed in promo videos along the scenes that caught the attention of movie buffs. The State has earmarked a sum of ₹1.12 crore for the project, which will be completed in six months.
