GUWAHATI, Nov 25 - The Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) today inked a memorandum of understanding with the Times Group for organising the 65th Filmfare Awards here on February 15, 2020. The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Bennett Coleman and Company Limited managing director Vineet Jain.
As the MoU paved the way of descending of Bollywood stars to Guwahati, the State government today clarified that the Rs 23-crore event, by no means, was wastage of money from public exchequer, as being alleged by many on different platforms.
Fifty per cent of the proceeds from sale of tickets for the awards show would be given to the Chief Minister�s relief fund. Moreover, the awards show is being organised to promote Assam tourism in the world encashing the popularity of Bollywood and a huge global reach of the Filmfare award show to nearly two billion people.
This is the first time the main Filmfare awards show is being held outside Mumbai.
�Assam has been selected as the venue of this glamorous awards show and we will prove that we have the capacity to host events of such stature. It would boost the State�s tourism industry projecting Assam as a peaceful and exquisite destination and would also open the markets of Southeast Asian entertainment industry,� Sonowal said.
Jain said his company can be a media partner for Assam in extending its reach to the ASEAN and BBIN countries and the State becoming a major economic hub of Southeast Asia. �Filmfare Awards in Guwahati is a landmark event that would place Assam on the world map. Not only the event would witness the biggest names of the film industry, it will also extend the India film industry�s patronage to Assam�s growth,� he added.
Giving a break-up of the reach of Filmfare shows, ATDC chairman Jayanta Malla Barua said last year it reached to 1.96 billion people � 270 million through digital media, 1,412 million through TV media, 235 million through radio and the rest through print media. �Through no other means, we can reach that huge number of people with minimum expenses. We assure the people that public exchequer is being judiciously used,� he added.
State Tourism Minister Chandan Brahma said that a number of other big events have been lined up in Guwahati that would give a new dimension to the State tourism.
