State IT dept to set up ‘world-class’ film training institute

Kolkata: The state Information Technology and Electronics (IT&E) department would set up a “world-class” film training institute matching the standards of Mumbai-based Whistling Woods International which is promoted by noted Indian filmmaker Subhas Ghai.

“We have been trying hard to set up a world-class film institute in Bengal that teaches all creative and technical aspects of film-making so that the students would be employable and industry-ready. We are in the advanced stage of talks with the top brass of Whistling Woods and if everything goes as per plan, then a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed in January,” a senior official of the department said.

According to sources in the department, a team from the premier film training institute has already paid a visit to Kolkata and there have been multiple telephonic conversations regarding setting up a similar institute here. An official in the department on conditions of anonymity said that Babul Supriyo, the minister in-charge of the department, has also spoken with Subhas Ghai regarding the institute.

Sources, citing Ghai’s health conditions, said that if the filmmaker would not be able to come to Kolkata, then a top delegation from the department would travel to Mumbai to sign the MoU. Meanwhile, Supriyo has said that his department is working “very closely” with the best minds in the country to set up a state-of-the-art drone academy.

“The drone technology is going to a very different level and we are keen to have an institute in Kolkata. We have already held talks with IIT Kharagpur and we may

collaborate with them in this area,” he said.

The minister’s interest in drone technology assumes significance as drone shooting has become quite common. Drones are being used for spraying insecticides, and even capturing footage at weddings.

The IT&E department already has an animation academy, which it is trying to take to a different level.