Bhopal: $100 million Hollywood web series to be shot in Bhopal

BHOPAL: A Hollywood project based on a bestseller novel by Gregory David Roberts ‘Shantaram’ will be shot in and around Bhopal. The shooting for ten part web series is expected to start from November 14 in state capital.

Sources said that the shooting for the web series titled ‘The Bear’ will begin from a location in old city. Members of the technical crew have started arriving in the city and an office of Paramount pictures (TV) has been opened here to look after the production needs. The shooting is expected to continue for a year at various locations in Madhya Pradesh.

Critically acclaimed Australian director Justin Kurzel has been hired to direct the series. Several other big names are also engaged with the series.

The estimated budget of project is $100 million of which an estimated Rs 750 crore is expected to be spent in MP. The shooting locations range from Australia to India.

Shantaram written by Gregory David in 2003 is a saga of an Australian bank robber and a drug addict who flees from Melbourne’s infamous high security Pentridge Jail in Australia and reaches India and spends time in Bombay.

Critics say that Shantaram is a fictionalised account of David Robert’s life. His life on the run took him to Germany and then to slums of Mumbai and later to Afghanistan. The novel has been published in thirty nine languages worldwide and has sold more than six million copies.

Employment & economy boost for Bhopal: According to estimate the shooting of the series will boost employment opportunities for people and various industries in and around Bhopal. Considering the kind of story, slum scenes will be shot in Bhopal where an estimated 500-700 people will be engaged.

Apart from these junior artists, hotels of the city will also be engaged for the production crew. The shooting will also boost the travel industry as 80-100 taxis will remain occupied every day. About 100 labourers will also be required to build and maintain film set every day.

CS monitoring project facilitation: Single window permission system has been made by the state government with tourism department acting as its nodal department. Chief Secretary SR Mohanty is personally monitoring the developments related to big film and TV productions underway in MP.

Kamal Hasan shooting for Indian 2 continues: Shooting of another movie Indian 2, sequel of Indian starring Kamal Haasan is going on at Iqbal Maidan for past few days. Director Shankar has decided to shoot climax scene of his movie here for which he has slated a separate budget of Rs 40 crore.