Thursday 16 / May / 2024
Muscat: While most of the Bollywood cinema lovers know their actors inside out, few know the people who envision and create the magic of cinema shoots that happen in Oman.Today, the Times of Oman (TOO) is featuring Gautam Roy and his endeavour in promoting the Sultanate to Bollywood cinema.
He is actively promoting the country’s diverse topography as an ideal location for Bollywood filmmakers to shoot their films.
Roy owns a production company called V4 Entertainment which provides logistical and production support to Bollywood film crews.
He and his team are planning to conduct an audition to find Omani artistes for his upcoming film which is going to be shot this year. It will be the first Bollywood film to be shot completely in Oman.
“The story of the film is based out of Oman, so for the first time, Oman will be shot as Oman and we are looking forward to hiring some good Omani talent,” Roy told the Times of Oman.
Roy came to Oman as an ordinary expatriate and later became one of the pioneers in promoting Oman to the world of cinema.
“I started doing events and films when no one in Oman had given it any thought,” said Roy.
V4 Entertainment has provided logistical and production support to films like Awara Pagal Deewana, Naach, Aaan, Gunday, with many more to come.
According to Roy, the film ‘Awara Pagal Deewana’ was the first Bollywood film to be shot in Oman.
“These film production units have embraced a large number of locals to be the logistical and production support for their movies,” said Roy.
"There are a large number of Omanis and expatriates who are always part of the unit whenever a Bollywood film is shot in Oman," he says.
According to him, nowadays, it has become very easy to involve the crowd in the shooting.
"Earlier, the involvement was just 5 to 10 percent but now almost 60 percent of the people who help out during the shooting are Omanis," he said.
Roy also said that Oman is slowly becoming a hotspot for Bollywood filmmakers as it has much to do with both, getting picture-perfect locations, as well as the friendly approach of the government.
“Many directors have fallen in love with the beauty of Oman, as many of our neighbours do not have the beauty which Oman has,” he said.
“However, we have to get as much support from the government as Bollywood gets from our neighbouring countries, so that we can make Oman one of the major destination for Bollywood films,” he added.
He also praised the support of the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Development (PAIPED) and Ministry of Tourism in their production.
According to Roy, PAIPED in Oman is looking to position the country as a destination for big budget Bollywood film shoots.
Roy hopes that Oman will soon become one of the favourite locations for Bollywood films.
