Bengaluru: The State Government is likely to finalise Mysuru as the location for the ambitious Film City project. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa had plans to shift the Film City to Roerich and Devika Rani Estate at Tataguni in Bengaluru. But this proposal is facing a legal tangle.

The Film City was sanctioned to Himmavu in Varuna constituency when Siddharamaiah was the CM and then when H.D. Kumaraswamy was the CM, the Film City was proposed to be built at Ramanagara. 

Recently, CM Yediyurappa had proposed to build the Film City inside the Tataguni Estate. 

According to a report prepared by global consultancy Ernst & Young that was handed over to the Tourism Department, a Film City on a 110-acre plot already identified in Himmavu village of Nanjangud taluk in Mysuru can produce 23 films every year. 

Also, Mysuru offers filmmakers at least 256 scenic locations within a 100-km radius.

Reacting on the report, Tourism Minister C.T. Ravi told reporters that there are certain legal issues preventing the establishment of the Film City inside Tataguni Estate as Roerich and Devika Rani family had desired that the estate must be used only for the purposes of the family and nothing else. 

A draft feasibility report on the Mysuru Film City was submitted in March 2018. Earlier this year, Ernst & Young gave a project status update in which Mysuru is reiterated as a “favoured location.” According to the existing plan, the Mysuru Film City will cost about Rs. 380 crore and it will provide direct employment to 1,700 people. 

The Film City is to have production and post-production zones for film-making, a hospitality zone, a film training/experience zone and an entertainment zone. In terms of area, the Mysuru Film City can surpass Pinewood Studios, London and Universal Studio, Singapore.