Mumbai: As Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Mumbai to list the Lucknow Municipal Corporation bonds on Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Maharashtra Cabinet minister Nawab Malik asserted that he must have come to the maximum city, seeking investment, adding Bollywood can't be taken elsewhere.
His comments came after Chief Minister Adityanath met actor Akshay Kumar on Tuesday and talked about building a film city in the state.
"Mumbai is the economic capital of the country. Chief ministers come here and try to take some industry and investment for their states. Yogi Adityanath may also have come to Mumbai in this endeavour," Malik said.
"He is speaking of making a film city in Uttar Pradesh. It's good as Bhojpuri has a very big market, but if anyone thinks that Bollywood can be taken elsewhere from Mumbai then they are confused. Even before this, Andhra Pradesh and other states started their own film city, but it did not diminish the importance of Bollywood in Mumbai," the minister added.
When asked about the investigation into Jalyukt Shivar Scheme, which was launched during former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' government, Malik said there are some irregularities in the scheme as per Comptroller and Auditor General of India's (CAG) report. "If the previous government did nothing wrong, then they should not be afraid of it." Yesterday, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar called on the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister at a city hotel to discuss the immense possibilities of film shoots in the northern state.
According to a release by UP's Information and Public Relations Department, the Chief Minister spoke at length to the Kesari actor about the innumerable possibilities for film shoots in Uttar Pradesh.
"Under our state's Film Policy 2018, we are encouraging more activities related to films and their production. Local residents and actors also benefit from this as it would give them an opportunity to showcase their talent and have secure employment. We are ensuring that producers and filmmakers shooting in Uttar Pradesh are provided with all amenities and support," Adityanath was quoted as saying in the release.
While thanking the UP CM for his support and endorsement of film shoots in Uttar Pradesh, the Bollywood actor also expressed his happiness over Adityanath's decision to build a "film city" in the state.
