Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi slashed down shooting rent in government owned sought-after locales. The rates were hiked in Tamil Nadu during the regime of Jayalalitha government. This forced the directors and producers like to shift to Pondicherry, known for its quaint French architecture.

Important locales in Tamil Nadu include Ooty, Kodaikanal, Pollachi, Top Slip, Valparai, Mudumalai, Courtallam, Mahabalipuram, and bigger Temples in Kancheepuram. In the City ECR, Rajaji Hall, Marina and Elliots beach were the most preferred locations.

Karunanidhi, whose nearly six-decade involvement with film world was well known, announced considerable reduction in per day’s rent for shooting. He recalled that the rent for filming in Rajaji Hall was increased in 2003 from Rs. 1,000 a day to Rs. 1 lakh by the AIADMK Government. After the 2004 elections, it was reduced to Rs. 25,000. This is now being reduced to Rs. 10,000 per day.

For filming in Type 1 locales the rate had been reduced from Rs. 10,000 a day to Rs. 5,000 and for Type 2 locales owned by the Government, the rate had been slashed from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 3,000. These rates were for filming a movie. For television, the Chief Minister announced that the rates would be half of what was applicable for filming a movie.

The industry also wanted total refurbishment of the once-famed MGR Film City to make it on par with the state-of-the-art Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad.

Karunanidhi also mentioned that a statue of actor Sivaji Ganesan was getting ready and would be installed at a prominent place in the city in the next 20-25 days.

The Tamil film industry is buoyant that the slash in rates for shooting films and TV serials has come as a big boost to the industry.