The Indian film industry plans to enhance film shooting and screenings in Russia

Russians grew up watching subtitled Indian films such as Raj Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Hema Malini, and Shah Rukh Khan. To reignite this historical cultural relationship, stakeholders in both countries are seeking to increase Indian cinema shoots and screenings in Russia, as per a credible source.

Following Hollywood's withdrawal from Russia for invading Ukraine in February 2022, film production and distribution businesses have made a determined attempt to attract Indian creators and market Indian films around the area.

According to the newspaper, Sarfaraz Alam Safu, the owner of production line company Kartina Entertainment, stated that his company has worked as the line producer for recent projects shot in Russia, including Sardar Udham, Pathaan, Tiger, and Jugjugg Jeeyo.

"I'm also working on a biopic of Rakesh Sharma (the first Indian in space) that will be shot here. Siddharth Roy Kapoor will produce the film. Companies such as Dharma Productions, Excel Entertainment, Emmay Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Productions, and others have contacted us about a variety of projects, according to the report.This year, Russian authorities hope to attract a larger number of Indian filmmakers by giving lower production costs.  "We are now like the front office or supermarket of any services for filmmakers, as we are trying to cut their production expenses as much as possible by offering a low price to shoot here," the report quoted Evgeny Kozlov, first deputy head of the office of the mayor and the government of Moscow, as saying.

Last month, the upcoming Tamil action picture The Geatest of All Time became the first international production to take part in the "Moscow-City of Cinema" program, which provides incentives to filmmakers.

According to Kozlov, the Moscow Department of Culture, which is in charge of luring filmmakers, is developing relationships with Bollywood filmmakers.

Meanwhile, there is a rise in the exhibition of Indian films across Russia. Aside from Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Indian films are shown in over 40 venues throughout the country, including Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Kazan, Penza, Saratov, Tula, Ulyanovsk, and Cheboksary. According to the study, Mirzoyan Karen Rudolfovich, a general producer of Indian films in Russia, thinks that Indian films would take approximately 20% of the Russian film industry in the next four to five years, up from less than 5% currently.