Who When film crews first rolled into Kutch for Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan, few imagined dusty villages near Bhuj would help rewrite a state’s image. Lagaan’s Oscar run did more than tell a story. It presented Gujarat with a cinematic proof of concept. If landscapes could amaze audiences, they could also move tourists and investors. Principal photography for Lagaan took place around Bhuj, which brought about a shift in the conversation about Gujarat as a filming canvas.
Culture as Catalyst: More Than Just Promotion
Over the next decade, Gujarat wove culture, heritage and cinema into integrated growth strategy that went far beyond promotion. Tourism marketing received a boost due to the influence of a celebrity storytelling, attracting national attention and global curiosity. The results could be seen on the ground in colourful festivals, heritage circuits and curated itineraries that turned tradition into immersive experience. This was not mere advertising but a strong state policy to place culture at the central of the development planning.
Policy Meets Practice: Cinematic Tourism Push
The clearest policy anchor arrived with the Cinematic Tourism Policy of 2022. It assured its single window permissions and gave it incentives of up to 25 percent of the eligible production expenditure in the state. Official later underlined practical sweeteners such as discounted stays in the tourism department hotels that later reduced unit costs for crews. The mixture of ease and economics turned Gujarat a working backlot to Hindi, Gujarati and other streaming projects.
Heritage Revival: Building Experiences That Last
At the same time, heritage revival generated attractions capable not only of attracting money but also feelings. In 2021 a promenade was commissioned at Somnath along with an exhibition centre and a restored precinct of the old Somnath, which improved people access and also the visitor experience and also protects the sacred core. Pilgrim steps are the source of livelihoods of guides, hoteliers, craftsmen and transport operators, along the coastal line.
Branding Through Biodiversity
Conversations became branding too. Gir’s lions are a global headline and a local economy. According to the 2025 census, there are 891 Asiatic lions as compared to 674 in 2020. Each percentage point of recovery strengthens Gujarat’s claim to a rare wildlife asset and sustains cottage industries in hospitality and nature guiding around Sasan.
Festivals as Economic Engines
Festivals turned culture into bookable moments. Rann Utsav turned the white salt desert into a seasonal city where artisans find buyers and homestays fill up several months before. The global attention around dance reached a new height in 2023 when the Garba was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity offered by the UNESCO. The living tradition justified that listing and it increased the market of music, costumes and choreography studios in Ahmedabad to Anand.
Power of the Frame: Artists as Multipliers
Across this arc, artists and producers acted as multiplier. Creators have demonstrated how a single frame can convey a sense of place- as seen in Gowariker’s Lagaan, and Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par. Icons as Asha Bhosle and Shekhar Kapur personify the depth of Indian cultural capital that state governments want to harness.
A Template for India: Culture as Core Strategy
Gujarat’s lesson is simple. Culture is not a garnish. It is the engine. Get the policy right, invest in heritage and conservation, make it easy to shoot and let storytellers do the rest. That template has discreetly become an India model, now echoed in national filming incentives and by other states competing to turn soft power into hard numbers.
