Vinod Behl

With the foundation stone of Noida International Film City, set to be laid on April 24, Noida will outpace Gurugram which is yet to move ahead on the plan to develop a film city, announced by the Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in April last year. In fact, Saini had made an announcement to build two film cities in the state – one in Pinjore (Panchkula) over 100 acres and another one in Gurugram. Till now, there is no movement on the twin film cities planned in Haryana.

In Noida, filmmaker Boney Kapoor’s consortium Bayview Projects in partnership with Bhutani Group had won the contract to develop the Noida  Film City with YEIDA , outbidding three other consortiums backed by film star Akshay  Kumar, filmmaker Boney Kapoor and Super Cassettes Industries (T series). The lay out plan for the first phase of the city was approved in June 2025. The Rs 1500 crore first phase of the project will now take off the ground on April 24, to coincide with the 25th Foundation Day of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority.

The entire film city project  is a massive 1000-acre project to be developed in three phases. The first phase over 230 acres will have core infra facilities like high-tech studios, post-production suites, film university/academy and a commercial hub . Phase  2&3 over 770 acres will involve expansion of studios, development of theme based amusement parks, a luxury hotel, service apartments, F&B-focused retail spaces, film market and equipment mall, and a public- friendly sustainable cinema centre. The first phase of the Film city is likely to take three years for completion whereas the entire project will be completed over 8 years.

In Haryana, the Pinjore (Panchkula) Film City is planned  to be built  over 100 acres in Phase-1, while the Gurugram Film City is to be developed in Phase-2. The entire two-phase project is designed to develop studios, shooting zones, post-production facilities , film museums , cultural centres  and training academies to attract filmmakers and media professionals.The film city project is aimed at building a comprehensive eco system for film and entertainment and to establish Haryana as a hub for the film industry, especially supporting regional films and performing artists.

The Haryana government had reportedly announced that it  had identified the land  for the Panchkula Film City and a process to appoint a project consultant was underway while the land for the Gurugram Film City is yet to be identified and specific project details have not been revealed Clearly, while there is a tangible progress on the Noida Film City project, ever since the announcement of the Panchkula and Gurugram film city projects in last summer, there is no progress on them.