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Railways move to stop daredevilry

Anil Kumar Sastry

BANGALORE: A gyrating Malaika Arora on a moving train, dancing to the tunes of “Chali Chayyan Chayyan” with Shahrukh Khan in Dil Se ; and the stunt involving Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar on a moving goods train in the 1970s blockbuster Sholay , are etched in the memory of many movie lovers.

But Indian Railways is seeking to throw cold water on any more such plans by film directors to shoot sequences on moving trains, by expressly prohibiting film-shooting of any kind on the roof or footboard of a moving train.

In new Policy Guidelines on still/video photography and film shooting in Railway Premises or Trains issued on June 1, the Railway Board has set down drastically revised ground rules for according permission for shooting. Besides banning shooting on the roof, the Board has said commercial shooting should be avoided at busy railway stations to avoid inconvenience to passengers.

While tourists, rail enthusiasts and news photographers and videographers need not pay any security deposit or licence fee, those undertaking shooting involving railway property for commercial purposes, including for feature films, have to pay a security deposit, the quantum of which will be determined by the railway zone concerned. The licence fee for films is Rs. 1 lakh for A-1 and A category cities, Rs. 50,000 for B-1 and B category cities, and Rs. 25,000 for other places. Earlier, the fee was a uniform Rs. 10,000 irrespective of city size. The fee is Rs. 30,000 for shooting inside moving trains. Hire charges for utilising the rolling stock have to be paid.

Besides paying the security deposit and licence fee, those undertaking feature film shooting have to get comprehensive insurance coverage based on the value of railway rolling stock involved as well as the number of persons participating. They should submit the script in advance to the zonal units, which would ensure that there is nothing adverse in it on the railways.

However, government agencies, including the Films Division, Doordarshan and certain Film Institutes are exempted from paying the security deposit and licence fee and taking out comprehensive insurance. In the case of documentary films, TV features on railways or news footage, the conditions may be relaxed on a case by case by the zonal railway authority.

The move is based on recommendations by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The PAC recommendations came in the context of an accident that occurred during a film shooting in 1979. It went into the details and commented adversely on various lapses, particularly non-settlement of detailed terms and conditions prior to the shooting, and excessive delay in determining the extent of damage and claims.

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