You’d be mistaken if you thought that the last 10 minutes of the Ajay Devgn-starrer ‘Shivaay’ was actually shot in Bulgaria. It was in fact a prominent hotel in Mussoorie. And if you were fooled into believing that John Abraham’s ‘Batla House’ had shots of the Pilibhit market near the India-Nepal Border, no one would blame you.

It was filmed near the Mall Road and Library Chowk of the town that overlooks Dehradun. In fact, even ‘The Kashmir Files’ did not have actual shots of Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Those were shot at locations across Uttarakhand, which is emerging as a prime destination for filmmakers with its picturesque landscapes, speedy clearances, and low costs.

The number of projects – including for ad shoots, web series, and movies – filmed in the state rose from just 15 in 2015 to 217 in 2021, with many choosing the hill state instead of other exotic but expensive locations abroad. Just in the first half of 2022, the number was 98.

According to the Uttarakhand Film Development Council (UFDC), there are roughly 1,800 to 1,900 films, advertisements, and web series being made in the country each year. Uttarakhand now snags over a tenth of the total projects and its share is growing, the data shows. What’s more, in the last five years, Uttarakhand has on three occasions bagged the ‘Best Film Friendly State’ award at the National Film Awards.

On the other hand, neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, which is also a Himalayan state, granted permission for only 43 shoots in the 2020-21 financial year comprising 18 web series, 14 ads, and 11 movies. Uttarakhand has actively sought to attract filmmakers from across the country. In 2017, the state government stepped up its campaign to promote the film sector. The then CM Trivendra Singh Rawat personally met top production houses and assured them of assistance for their projects, highlighting how shooting in Uttarakhand would be an economical option.

“The film sector in Uttarakhand has grown to become a Rs 100-crore industry. To get there, the council first carried out a case study on the ‘Student Of The Year 2’ movie,” said Kalam Singh Chauhan, the former nodal officer of UFDC who played a key role in attracting production crews to the state.

“Their entire team was in Uttarakhand for 55 days and the estimated expense was Rs 14 crore. While locals landed employment opportunities, the crew made big savings as the costs would have been three-to-four times higher had the location been some place abroad.”

The state’s film policy was also changed to make way for faster clearances. Earlier, a filmmaker had to approach individual district magistrates for permission to shoot. Now, a single-window system is in place for clearances. Among other benefits, the government offered subsidies to filmmakers who shot over 75% of their projects in Uttarakhand. Subsidies were also provided for films made in regional languages and local dialects.

The outcome of these efforts can be seen in several ‘A-listers’ of the industry making a beeline for the state. Rajkummar Rao-starrer ‘Badhaai Do’, Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Kabir Singh’ and ‘Batti Gul Meter Chalu’, and Alia Bhatt’s ‘Sadak’ were all shot in the state.

“We don’t face hassles in obtaining permission to shoot. The state has turned into a favoured shooting destination,” said filmmaker Harshavardhan Kulkarni, who wrapped up shooting for his movie ‘Badhaai Do’ some months back.

Filmmaker Kunal Shamshere Malla said, “Be it permissions or other approvals, everything was hassle-free. The shooting scenario in Uttarakhand has improved greatly over the years.”

Happy with the hill state’s performance, the information department has mooted a proposal for a ‘Film City’ in Dehradun. A project with infrastructure and other facilities is in the pipeline and the state government is likely to make a major announcement by the end of the year.

Senior IAS officer and director general of information, Ranveer Singh Chauhan, told TOI, “At a recent meeting, we took a call to identify suitable land for the proposed film city, which will also have a ‘film training centre’. The growth has been phenomenal and this can turn out to be a major employment sector for our youth. ”