Cyberpark to become Hollywood post production hub.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: The proposed Cyberpark in Kozhikode, Kerala might soon become a prime destination for Hollywood industry as leading post production companies are eyeing at opening their offices inside one of Kerala’s most ambitious IT projects.
If everything goes according to the plan, Cyberpark Kozhikode will become a reality by 2016, offering regional development and ultimately acting as a driver of economic growth. Currently, the construction inside the 43 acres land in Kozhikode is progressing at a fast pace.
According to the media release of MD NCHE, who are the official media and PR partners of the Cyberpark project, Pune-based Montura VFX, which has associated with Hollywood blockbusters like the Harry Potter series, Spiderman, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Sex and the City and Walking with Dinosaurs, has opened office in Cyberpark.
R Ajith Kumar, CEO of Cyberpark Kozhikode said that more multimedia and VFX companies have approached him showing interest in opening centers by next year when the park becomes fully functional.
Ajith Kumar was quoted in the press release, saying, “The entertainment industry is going to be a major employment generator in the coming years and we want to leverage the opportunities in this booming sector. The opening of the production unit of Montura is just a beginning and we will be able to bring in more such firms to the park by next year.â€
Montura VFX CEO, P P Nirshid said, “We are really happy to set up a unit in Cyberpark which has all the features of a world class IT park. This is our second production unit in India and first in Kerala. We will be setting up a state-of-the-art unit to provide an international working culture for the qualified young crowd in Kerala.â€
Nirshid added that his company will buckle up its operations in Cyberpark in the first year and is expecting to provide employment opportunities to talented youngsters of the state.
“There is a growing demand for visual effects professionals across the globe with the film industry opting for more experimentation. Kerala is a perfect destination for us considering the huge talent pool. We will be focusing on this aspect and create a world class professional group in Kerala,” he said.
Cyberpark offers innovative eco-friendly business space with state of the art IT infrastructure. The vision of Cyberpark is to raise itself as one of the preferred locations for world-class IT, residential and support infrastructure development in Kerala.
The company would scale up its operations at the park in the first year and double the intake to provide more employment to talented youth in the state, said.
When Cyberpark becomes fully functional by next year, it will be the third IT hub in Kerala, with the other two Technopark and Infopark situated in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, respectively. Ironically, another project under the Kerala government named Smart City Kochi, proposed in 2004 was caught in a dispute between the state government and investors, till 2011. That project has also gained momentum and is in the construction stages now.