Kamalistan Studio — started by legendary filmmaker Kamal Amrohi in 1958 — was recently sold a couple of real estate firms
The lights have gone dim, the camera is not rolling any more and sounds of "Action!" have fallen silent. Kamalistan Studio — started by legendary filmmaker Kamal Amrohi in 1958 — was recently sold a couple of real estate firms. The studio has witnessed the production of timeless films such as Razia Sultana, Amar Akbar Anthony, and Kaalia. Developers are planning to build the country's largest corporate park spread over 15 acres of Kamalistan's film history. However, the studio is not the first to have its curtains down due to improving technology and falling demands.
Earlier in May, Godrej purchased the legendary RK Studios in exchange of a huge amount to develop retail and residential spaces. V Shantaram's Rajkamal Studios, Bombay Film Lab, Jyoti, and Filmalaya have also shutdown in the last two decades.
"Burgeoning property values and lowering returns are at the heart of such shutdowns," opines film critic Amod Mehra. "You don't require a whole building to record a song and a 200 square feet studio is sufficient. Minimisation of technology also plays a role. These are tough times to maintain a studio. Kamalistan was never a proper studio. It was quite far off and was used only for television serials. It had vast acres of land that had not been fully utilised. Use of VFX has also reduced the need for a proper studio," Mehra further said.
The state-owned sprawling film city still remains a good option as it offers a lot of parking space.
"Maintaining the staff, paying electricity bills, and chasing producers for the same makes it difficult to run studios. Artists stopped preferring Kamalistan as it was a bit back of the beyond," said advertisement filmmaker Devdoot Mazumdar.
"Most A-listers like Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan prefer a Mehboob studio or a Yashraj studio as they are convenient. Kamalistan used to have a rail station or a ready village setup. Even those who want to have such a setup go for options like Agra and Mathura, while there are others who go abroad for scenic locales," Mazumdar said.
"If people want to show a train they will book a real train. Many corporate bigwigs and big producers have made modern studios. Hence, convenience and output is taking precedence over nostalgia and history thereby, sounding the death knell for such iconic studios," Mazumdar added.
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