This time in Reel to Real, we got to know the process of shooting the film at a famous public location in Mumbai.
Gateway of India, Marine Drive, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mud Island these places have a Bollywood connection. In fact, films and web series like OMG-2, Darling, The Lunchbox and Railway Man have been filmed in these public or real locations. However, filming on these real locations is fraught with pitfalls. Many times, stars have to deal with incidents such as sexual assault. This is the reason why actors hesitate to film in these places.
Many films have also been shot in Mumbai’s local trains. If filming has to be done in 4 bogies, the rate for 12 hours is Rs 7 lakh. The rate for shooting on the platform is Rs 2 lakh.
In today’s Reel to Real, we spoke to film director Surjeet Singh, Avinash Kumar, Vineet Abhishek, Head of Public Relations, Western Railways, Mumbai and actress Smiley Suri, to know the whole process filming in a real location.
He explained to us how filming takes place in real locations. How much does it cost to film here? How are the local population managed during filming? And how does night filming work on real locations?
Finalizing the actual location is the most difficult task, says Surjit Singh, “Many films are shot in real locations like Marine Drive, Gateway of India in Mumbai. However, shooting in these places is not easy at all.
Once the script is finalized, the location is requested by production. Then we start looking for locations based on the scenes. This takes most of the time. After pre-selecting 3 to 4 locations, interviews take place with the owner. Once everything is finalized from the owner’s side, we inform the director about the filming locations. Then his team goes to see him. For shooting in locked places, permission is obtained from the local police and the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation).
After that, the work of the base surface begins on site. Like the living conditions of the actors and their team. Food stand. Accommodation arrangements for crew members. Arrangement for storing the tent and lighting equipment.
Location authorization is subject to payment. To shoot at a live location, permission must be obtained from BMC and local police. Authorization is obtained in approximately 7 days. A fixed amount must also be paid for this authorization.
Film shooting also takes place in Mumbai’s local trains. Many films have also been shot in Mumbai’s local trains. There are two types of shooting in railway tracks, one is on the railway platform and the other is in the train bogie. For this, special permission must be obtained from the railways. There are different fees for the two categories of authorizations. For example, if the filming has to be done on a separate railway platform, the charges are Rs 2 lakh for 12 hours. At the same time, pulling inside 4 bogies costs Rs 7 lakh.
Filming can only take place on Sundays of the week. No local passengers were present on the train on which the shooting took place. If firing is to be carried out in a moving train, permission is given to fire only over a limited distance. Its charge is also different. It is also important to follow the rules and regulations of the Department of Railways.
Seeing the shooting, the crowd is going out of control, the local people are even threatened, Surjeet said, “When shooting at a real location, the biggest task is to manage the people living nearby. In any case, the world of cinema is very attractive to ordinary people. Seeing movie stars, they get out of control and it’s our job to deal with them. Often the local population causes a lot of trouble. Even threaten. They think that after this they will have money.
To avoid the crowds, the creators practice guerrilla shooting. When filming takes place in a real location, a crowd definitely gathers. To avoid this crowd, creators sometimes use guerrilla shooting. This means shooting while hiding from the local population.
Talking about this, Avinash Kumar said, “Like recently, there was the shooting of an Ameesha Patel film. We had to do a close up of Ameesha ji and her co-actor at a mall in Noida. We arrived there with the camera without informing anyone and started filming.
On the day of the last shoot, when we were about to leave, people at the mall came to know that actress Ameesha Patel had come. As soon as they recognized him, the crowd went out of control. People couldn’t wait to shake his hand and click their pictures. I cannot describe the scene of that day in words. Luckily we had bouncers outside the mall who took care of everything.
The police are there to provide security during night shootings. We often have to shoot in real locations, even at night. In such a situation, the local police remain present on site at night. Vanity vans are made available for the stars and crew members. Above all, there is a complete arrangement for lighting.
People commented on the actress’ clothes during the college shoot. Even though filming in real locations gives a real touch to the films, filming in these locations is full of challenges for the actors. For security reasons, they are reluctant to shoot at these places.
Sometimes incidents of tampering also occur while filming in real locations. Talking about this, location manager Avinash said, “It often happens that fans go out of control after seeing their favorite star. Consciously or unconsciously, they hug the star, sometimes even kissing them, which makes the star uncomfortable.
Often people make lewd comments about the actress’s attire. Once we were filming at a university. Some children were making comments about the main actress. They made indecent comments about her clothing. To prevent the situation from getting worse, we took the actress out of college.
We must handle such situations with love. We cannot get angry at the other person, rather we have to explain things to them properly.
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