Hyderabad is famous not just for biriyani and pearls, but also film production: TFDC chairman Ram Mohan

Ram Mohan, the newly-elected chairman of Telangana Film Development Corporation (TFDC), says that Hyderabad is the hub of the Indian film industry, where 250 movies are made every year.

Ram Mohan was one of the special guests at the Indywood billionaires club, which was held a part of Indywood Film Carnival at Princess Hall in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad on Friday evening. Addressing the event, the TFDC chairman said that Hyderabad does not just boast about biriyani and pearls, but also film production.

"People talk about Hyderabadi biriyani and pearls, but we also have is lot of films produced here. Around 250 films are produced in Hyderabad every year and most of them are Telugu movies. Some Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and other language films are also shot here. It is basically hub for the film industry in India," he said.

"When compared to other countries in the world, India produces highest number films every year, but it suffers from a lack of theatres. Advanced countries have a theatre for 10,000 pepole, but in India, we have one for 1 lakh population. So we have scarcity of theatres. Sohan Roy and his team team have lot of scope and opportunities to construct cinema halls, dubbing theatres and studios," he added.

The Telangana government has come forward to support and encourage the film industry in several ways. "We are also conducting the children's film festival here once in every two years. The festival has happend four times in the past and around 1,400 delegates had come here every time. It is a great opportunity for children, who can get into films," said the TFDC chairman.

Ram Mohan also also explained the Telangana government's plans for a Special Economic Zones (SEZ). "We are also working studios, where you can get SCZ policies (like tax breaks). We are planning to have an international film institute, where the filmmakers can come and have a wonderful shooting experience," he said.

"We are trying to have single window permission for film shooting in Telangana. We have started online ticket booking facility for all the theatres in the state. We are planning to have single window permission for theatre construction, were people can get permission in 21 days to build cinema halls here," he added.

Ram Mohan thanked the organisers of Indywood Film Carnival. "I would like to thank Sohan Roy and his team for holding Induywood Film Carnival in Hyderabad," he said.