NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Culture will help coordinate the film industry in getting permission to shoot at country’s iconic Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-managed sites, said Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel on Thursday. He was speaking at the FICCI Frames which is being held virtually amid pandemic. 

“I have been meeting ASI officials for the past three days. We do not have much role when it comes to films. It has a separate ministry. But as far as the iconic sites are concerned, when filmmakers want to shoot there, it takes a long time to get permissions. We are ready to help the industry in these aspects,” said Patel.  

The minister appealed to film industry that the filmmakers should popularise the sites within the country. He appealed to the industry that it should choose Indian destinations for their films rather than exploring places in abroad. “There has not been enough focus on the north-east. Earlier, people would talk about insurgency there. Today, there is no insurgency there,” said Patel.   

States have separate rules and those need to be respected, he said. The minister said it varies from states to states, if they prefer quantity tourism to quality of tourism, and the ministry has to move forward with keeping in mind the preference of states. 

“The Ministry of Tourism is responsible for coordination. We have held transparent discussions with all stakeholders. States are important too,” he said. 

The industry has incurred large-scale losses and the ministry is working on how the industry can emerge strong in the post Covid-19 phase. 

“There has been losses; we have to acknowledge that and then move forward,” said Patel.