Gujarat will host the 69th edition of Filmfare Awards in 2024, with the state government's Tourism Corporation on Wednesday signing an MoU with entertainment and lifestyle content company Worldwide Media to host the event and promote the state as a film destination, officials said.
Gujarat will host the Filmfare Awards - annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India - for the first time and through that the state will be promoted as a film destination, they said. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) MD Saurabh Parghi on behalf of the state government and Deepak Lamba, CEO on behalf of Worldwide Media (WWM) in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel at Gandhinagar.
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The government said the film industry has received the state's 2022 Cinematic Tourism Policy with enthusiasm and has been attracted to the state as a destination of their choice to shoot movies. Hosting this Filmfare Award 2024 will become another landmark for the state seeking to project itself as a prominent film destination, it said. Apart from CM Patel, Tourism Minister Malubhai Bera and other senior ministers and officers, Managing Director of Times Group Vineet Jain and Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff were also present at the MoU signing ceremony.
Hosting such a prestigious award ceremony in the state will attract a large number of celebrities, filmmakers and industry professionals to Gujarat, and this will boost tourism and local economy of the state, CM Patel said on the occasion.
The chief minister added that artists and filmmakers of Gujarat will get an opportunity to interact and exchange ideas with professionals of the Indian film industry and learn about new trends, technology and techniques in film production.
The event can also promote the state as a film destination by giving it significant exposure and promotion, he said. The event will showcase the state's natural beauty, cultural heritage and infrastructure, which will attract filmmakers to use Gujarat as a venue for future film projects.
As a result, film production and investment will increase in the state, he added. Jain said that the purpose behind organising Filmfare Awards in Gujarat is not only to promote Gujarat tourism, but also to strengthen the state's film ecosystem. He added that organising the film awards will attract production houses from all over the world to Gujarat and promote art, culture and film industry in the state, thereby leading to its holistic development. The WWM will organise the Filmfare Awards in Gujarat in the beginning of 2024, he said.