The ambitious International Film City project of the Yogi Adityanath government will take off on June 26 with the foundation laying ceremony. The chief minister’s dream project coming up in Sector-21 along the Yamuna Expressway will be completed in the next 18 months.
The Bayview Bhutani Film City Pvt Ltd—a consortium led by film producer Boney Kapoor and the Bhutani Group—is executing the project which will be spread in an area of over 230 acres with an estimated cost of ₹1,510 crore.
According to Boney Kapoor, in the first phase of the project, multiple film studios and sound stages will be constructed and shooting of films will begin within 18 months. Rajeev Arora, general manager, Bayview Bhutani Film City Pvt Ltd, said the YEIDA approved the layout plan for the first phase of the project on June 16.
The foundation laying ceremony will be held on June 26, he added. The list of dignitaries likely to attend the event is currently being finalised. In the first phase, the project will feature film studios, institutes, and infrastructure related to film production.
It will also include post-production units, a runway, helipad, galleries resembling Parliament House, Char Dham-themed sets and solar-powered locations. The Bayview Projects LLP and the Bhutani Group bagged the film city project by offering the highest gross revenue share bid of 18 percent.
Following the issuance of the Letter of Award, a concession agreement was signed on June 27, 2024, between the YEIDA and the concessionaire representative Boney Kapoor. In accordance with the agreement, the Right of Way was handed over to the concessionaire on February 27, 2025 and the project’s master plan received official approval on January 30, 2025.
The International Film City is being hailed as a historic step towards establishing Uttar Pradesh as a national and global hub for film production. The project will be completed in three phases over the next eight years. In the first phase, construction will take place on 230 acres, and in the future, expansion will take place on the remaining 770 acres in second and third phases.
In the first 155 acres, main structures like film studios, sound stages, post-production units, and a film institute will be built. Additionally, on 75 acres, a commercial centre with retail, offices and entertainment complexes will be developed, but this will start only after the film-related buildings are completed.
What film city will have
*A convention centre with 10,000 seats
*A museum based on Indian cinema
*A special film festival area, which will have a guest house and an auditorium.
*Separate accommodation facilities for artists.
*Small studio units with different Indian architectural styles, which can be rented out for shooting or staying
*Large sound stages and an underwater shooting studio