Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath Met prominent members of the entertainment industry in Mumbai to find out its status as a film production destination. Lyricist Manoj Muntashir spoke exclusively to India TV on the sidelines of the meeting held at Taj Colaba and shared some important aspects of the discussion with Adityanath and what film industry stakeholders and the UP chief minister are expecting from the meeting.
Excerpts from the interview.
What are your thoughts about remakes of old Bollywood songs?
I think it’s okay to remix songs but don’t try to make them better than the original because then things get ruined. Remix should be equal to salt in pulses, and I will take responsibility for it as an artiste. But remixing every song and thinking that it will do better than the original is not right.
How is Uttar Pradesh as a shoot location?
Uttar Pradesh has received proposals for more than 500 films and 200 films have been shot in the state. 80 films have been subsidized. These figures speak for themselves. All the work for the film has been done at one place in UP. UP has received the award for Most Film Friendly State twice. There is no politics and corruption of any kind. I know of 25 such films which have been shot in the state. It was a very nice and comfortable experience. Those who are talking about snatching employment are only creating fear. We are talking about the expansion of the film industry. Tamil films are shot in Chennai. Malayalam films are shot in Kerala and Bengali films are shot in West Bengal. Hindi language has its own cinema but does not have its own land but Yogi Adityanath ji has listened to us. Hindi is the mother tongue of UP, so why don’t we shoot films in UP?
What is Yogi Adityanath’s reaction to the talk on ‘Boycott Bollywood’ trend?
There is a trend of ‘boycott Bollywood’ across the country. Yet Yogi Adityanath ji showed courage and met everyone, even though it could have tarnished his image.
read: Yogi Adityanath meets Bollywood stakeholders in Mumbai, seeks investment for UP Film City