Central Railways earns record Rs 2.32 crore in film shoots; Mumbai's CSMT top site in 2022

Central Railway earned a record Rs 2.32 crore from film shoots on its premises in 2022, up from Rs 1.17 crore in 2021, with the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus being the preferred location for filmmakers, an official said on Thursday. The amount is the highest ever for film shoots for CR for any calendar year, the feat being achieved by offering various sites and rail coaches as locations, he added.

"A total of 14 films were shot, comprising eight feature films, three web series, one documentary, one short film and an advertisement. The highest earning of Rs 1.27 crore was from the feature film '2 Brides' shot at Yeola, Kanhegaon stations with a 'shooting special' train for 18 days. Another feature film shot at Apta railway station near Panvel with a special train for three days fetched Rs. 29.40 lakhs," it said.

According to the release, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus continues to be the most preferred film shooting location as five films were shot at the UNESCO World Heritage railway station, including an advertisement of a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG).

Other popular sites were railway stations like Apta, Panvel, Lonavala, Khandala, Wathar, Satara and railway yards like Turbhe and Wadi bunder, it said, adding the new emerging locations included Yeola, Kanhegaon stations between Manmad and Ahmednagar, and Narayan Doho on the newly-commissioned Ahmednagar-Ashti stretch.

As per officials., several box office hits, including Slumdog Millionaire, Kaminey, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Ra-one, Raavan, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Dilwale Dulaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dabangg, Darbaar, Rang de Basanti, Baaghi, Khaki etc have been shot on CR premises in the past.

In order to expedite film shooting permissions, a single window system has been introduced recently, the release said. "Central Railway, with its seamless process, attracted production houses to use its location for film shooting and generated this record revenue," the release stated.