Mumbai: When Suniel Shetty's Popcorn Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd decided to shoot their film Mission Istanbul starring Vivek Oberoi and Zayed Khan in Turkey, they were welcomed with open arms. After all, this film would help the Turkish tourism, that's what Attilla KOC, the Minister of Culture and Tourism said at a press conference. He also promised to give the company substantial subsidies for the locations and airline tickets in return for using the Turkish tourism logo in the film.
A service company Icon Europe was appointed to execute and liaise for the tasks pertaining to the shooting of the film. The company asked Popcorn to pay the full amount for all the services, but assured in a contract that they would return them the subsidised amount. However, even seven months after the release of the film the money is yet to be returned. And now the company is planning to take legal action against the tourism ministry of the country.
Confirming the news, Shabbir Boxwala of Popcorn says, "The minister had clearly said we will be given subsidies and the service company, Icon, said they will return to us the money. We were told that whatever discounts we get from airline tickets, location cost etc, would be returned to us. We promoted Turkey through our film by using their logos and show-reels of Turkey in every print and DVD. But the ministry changed and these people went back on their word. They owe us at least 266,000 dollars which we have been asking for since the last six months. Now we are planning legal action against them."
It is a set norm that various countries where Bollywood films are shot give subsidies and discounts to the unit as the film helps promote the tourism of the country. Some countries like UK give as much as a 25% discount of the total cost.
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