After a brief introduction to the 40-year-old taxi driver at the Dehradun airport, when he asked if you knew any set coordinators for film commercials, looking at him, I had no answer. Seeing my face, he said, " Never mind sir, you mentioned that you have been in Mumbai for decades so I thought you might know someone, especially the vendors, who help the film crew in providing the accessories and accessories used in the shoot.'

When I asked why this awkward question, he said bluntly, 'Sir in 2015 only 15 projects were shot in Uttarakhand, in which apart from films, there were ads and web series, while in 2021 it increased to 217. So far this year 98 projects have been done and now the season is starting from September to April 2023. To sum up, 1800 such projects will be shot in different parts of the country, with the neighboring state Himachal being our toughest competitor, yet we will have 10% of the total projects here.

I was awestruck to see his clarity, thought process and knowledge of the field he was trying to make his living. Then I remembered reading somewhere that Uttarakhand has won the title of 'Best Film Friendly State' thrice from the National Film Awards in the last five years. In the next few minutes, he narrated a list of films shot in Uttarakhand, including Shahid Kapoor's Kabir Singh, Batti Gul Meter Chalu. Alia Bhatt's Sadak, Rajkummar Rao's Badhaai Do, Ajay Devgn starrer Shivaay, which featured a famous Mussoorie hotel as a Bulgaria-like location. Some scenes of John Abraham's Batla House and the most talked about The Kashmir Files were also shot here.

When I asked that you yourself have such deep knowledge then why do we need help from outsiders like us, he said, 'By the grace of God my work is going well, but I want to send my son to Mumbai to work' I want to get an idea how much I need to invest here so that I can expand my business. He will work as an assistant with someone to network with the set coordinators associated with large and various production houses in Bollywood, so that we can get contracts even before the survey team of films comes to the location and contacts vendors like us. Take it

For my better understanding, he mentioned 'Student of the Year 2' as a case study. She said that the film crew stayed in the state for 56 days and spent a few crores on their needs. You will be surprised that this year the shooting business is 100 crores. would have been more than Hotels must have got a significant part of that expenditure in their account, but vendors like us also have a share. He confidently said that I just wanted a little part of that expense.

It is not that only some people of the state are thinking differently, the state government has also adopted a different path. Realizing the difficulties in getting clearances for such shooting projects in neighboring Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand has not only brought in a single window system, but the producers will also get a subsidy if they shoot 75% of the film here. Not surprisingly, the glamor industry is liking Uttarakhand.