Taj Mahal to light up Hollywood film studios

Vishal Sharma
Agra. The international fame of the Taj Mahal attracts millions of tourists from around the globe to Agra. But to the motion picture industry outside India, shooting at the Taj Mahal is still an uncharted territory.

Till date, very few movies made in Hollywood have featured the Taj Mahal, and that too, by means of props and models. But all that is set to change now.

Renowned Hollywood motion picture group Time Warner is keen on entering into talks with the UP government to use the Taj Mahal as a shooting site for a number of historical movie projects that it wishes to initiate in the new future.

The company has also expressed its intent to build theme parks, studios and shopping malls in the state, viewing Agra as a future hub for movie-making.

During his Agra visit on Thursday, Millard Ochs, president, Warner Bros. International Cinemas, had discussions with Uttar Pradesh Tourism Minister Kawkab Hamid regarding facilities that could be extended by the government to the company, if it established its studios, theme parks, shopping malls etc. in Uttar Pradesh, especially Agra.

Talking to Business Standard later, Hamid said during the discussions, Ochs, who was visiting India for the first time on a research trip for shooting locales, said Agra had all the potential to become a movie hub for motion picture companies from Hollywood.

He said Warner Bros was working on a number of movie projects based on the history of Asia, especially India, and that the construction of the Taj Mahal by Mughal emperor Shahjahan was a very important chapter in the history of India.

According to Hamid, the company was also searching for more shooting locales in Uttar Pradesh, but their primary focus remained fixed on Agra, being the home of the Taj Mahal, with two more world heritage monuments – the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

He said the UP government was keenly looking into all possible benefits that could be reaped by the state tourism industry, by allowing Hollywood movie shootings in Agra, among other towns of historic and cultural importance in the state.

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