Film makers throng picturesque Ooty for shoots

Ooty (Tamil Nadu), Sep 1 : Udagamandalam or Ooty, one of the scenic hill stations in India, is abuzz with activity as film makers' start making a beeline to the hill resort generating employment for locals.

Local people have benefited a lot in terms of employment opportunities with a large number of shooting units flocking to the city in the past few months.

The sudden spurt in film shooting in Ooty provides jobs to more than 1000 persons and 2500 derive indirect benefits.

When five to seven units come here at least 100 cars and vans are hired and a large number of hotel rooms are also occupied.

"The onset of film making units is a big gift for locals here as it provide them ample opportunities for employment and it helps them a lot. It helps in all round growth in Ooty's economy," said Soman, Assistant Production Manager.

The captivating scenic beauty of Ooty has been the main reason behind filmmakers choosing the city as their destination for shoot.

"Being based in Chennai, Nilgiri's Ooty is the closest we can get to a hill station with all the facilities that one requires for a major production so in that way we thought Ooty suited my needs best and it has fine hotels for every category right from the basic crew to the middle level crews and to the top stars, all of them can find accommodation here so they have got variety of tariffs so it's easy for us to shoot and accommodate a crew of about 150 people," said Raju Eswarn, a film director.

While film units get what they want, the locals feel their presence contributes significantly to the economic well being of the town and the surrounding Nilgiri district.

ANI