PANAJI: Any filmmaker can now get assistance to shoot in Andhra Pradesh on payment of a small service fee, thanks to the formation of the Film Tourism Cell in the state Tourism Ministry.

State Tourism Secretary Jayesh told indiantelevision.com that the Cell would also function as a single-window clearance for all kinds of permissions, infrastructure requirement and other facilities.

He said that the fee would be only ten per cent if the filmmaker was spending a maximum of Rs 2.5 million, and five per cent if it was over this amount. The fee had been fixed on slab basis.

He said the Cell, which was formally launched here at the Film Bazaar by renowned filmmaker and Dadasaheb Phalke awardee D Rama Naidu, would be marketed all over the country through all media and also at various film festivals in India and overseas.

The service fee to be earned would be spent on marketing and would be shared with local studios in Andhra Pradesh.

He said the state today had cutting edge technologies and the various studios were all state-of-the-art. The state was producing the highest number of films and often overtook even Hindi cinema, with the state film industry having a turnover of Rs 2 billion.

Earlier inaugurating the Cell, Rama Naidu said he had recently set up another studio in Vishakapatnam apart from the one in Hyderabad.

C Parthasarthi, Managing Director of the AP State Film, Television, and Theatre Development Corporation, said the state now had six studios including the Ramoji Rao Film City.

He said the Corporation would prepare software on various locations for shooting in the state in collaboration with the Cell and the Tourism Ministry.