About Ramoji Film City:
Media mughal Ramoji Rao is making a full-fledged Hollywood film, “Quick Sand”, not in Los Angeles but in Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. He has recreated the Arizona army base, the barracks, the vehicles, and US military uniforms for the army personnel, and above all, the virtual reality of American landscape. All this in his world-famous Film City. History knows Quli Qutub Shah as the founder of Hyderabad City and posterity will know Ramoji Rao as the architect of the Film City known to everyone who is familiar with the world of films and entertainment. Rao’s alchemy factory has produced so far durables like the Margadarsi chit funds, Priya pickles, Ushodaya films and the Eenadu print and TV empires. Ramoji Film CityThe Film City, spread over 2,000 acres of land studded with hills, vales and lakes, has few parallels as both a tourist attraction and major film-making facility. The city looks like the result of a collaboration between P.C. Sorkar and Vishwakarma and is anytime a match to Universal Studios in Hollywood, brick to brick, gizmo to gizmo. It is a place where reality acquires all the attributes of magic and incredibility. Today, it is the filmmakers’ first choice as it is a single-window, press-button facility that opens up an unlimited arena of creativity for every major and minor aspect of film production. To quote some directors and producers, the Film City has “all facilities at one place with latest technology and advanced equipment.” Its brochure highlights its motto as ‘make the magic happen.’ However, magic happens spontaneously without human intervention as though it is the main ingredient of the entire project. Yet, everything is real, from the 50 studio floors, the support systems, outdoor locations to the high-tech laboratories, the wealth of technology, the greenery, and the hillscape. Ramoji Film CityEvery need of the filmmaker, imaginary and real, has gone into the planning and execution of this mega project costing hundreds of crores of rupees. Everything that goes into making a film, from raw film to cameras, to processing labs to editing consoles, stage properties, studio floors and even travel arrangements to recreation and past-time is available at the mere mention of it. All this to suit a variety of budgets, whether it is a shoestring art film or a giant formula film. Ramoji Film City is an all-in-one boundless complex offering not just film-making facilities but also customer services, technical expertise, production support personnel and comprehensive technical infrastructures attracting the attention of top film-makers, production houses and leading multinational advertising agencies. A rapid tour of the Film City complex vindicates the claim it makes in its campaign that “Ramoji Film City is geared to service several film and television productions simultaneously. It is one place in the world where you can walk in with a script and walk out, leaving despatch instructions for release of prints or television broadcast masters.” The Film City, in company with the Cybercity, has put Hyderabad on the map of the world. In short, it is a film-maker’s dream and a tourist’s idea of a paradise.
General Information about Ramoji Film City:
Location: Hyderabad
State: Andhra Pradesh
Capital: Hyderabad
Language: Telugu, Hindi, English
Temperature: Max 42˚C, Min 27˚C (summer), Max 21˚C, Min 14˚C (winter)
Best Season: October to February
How to Reach Ramoji Film City:
By Air:
Hyderabad is connected to the rest of the world by both national and international flights. The Hyderabad airport is divided into both domestic and international terminals. The domestic terminal is called the N.T. Rama Rao Domestic Terminal. Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Air Sahara, Deccan Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Spice Jet are the major domestic flights that operate here. The international terminal is called the Rajiv Gandhi International Terminal. Major international flights operating here are Lufthansa Airlines, Silk Air Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Saudi Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Qatar Airlines. The airport is located at Begumpet.
By Rail:
Secunderabad, which is the co-sister city of Hyderabad, is the head office of Southern and Central railways. Besides the Secunderabad railway station there are two other railway stations namely, the Hyderabad railway station (also known as Nampally) and Kacheguda railway station. All the trains leaving from Hyderabad and Kacheguda railway station have a stoppage at the Secunderabad railway station.
By Road:
Hyderabad city is well connected to all the major states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Orissa. The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has maintained a well laid out system of roadways, which connect Hyderabad to almost every city and town. Its head office is at Secunderabad. Some major national highways that pass through Hyderabad are NH – 4, NH – 5, NH – 7, NH – 9, NH – 16, NH – 18, etc.