Permission process for film shooting in Darjeeling toy trains made online

Film producers are often misguided by some touts on the process of getting permissions, said a statement issued by NFR

Sumir Karmakar, DHNS, Guwahati,

Jun 29 2021, 21:31 ist
updated: Jun 29 2021, 21:55 ist

The heritage toy train in Darjeeling. Credit: Northeast Frontier Railway headquarters at Maligaon, Guwahati

The permission for film shooting in Darjeeling toy train and other railway properties can now be obtained online.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has now added a section in its website (https://nfr.indianrailways.gov.in/) for obtaining film shooting persmission online without a visit to its headquarters at Maligaon in Guwahati.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site including the narrow gauge toy train in North Bengal is not only a busy tourist site but also a preferred destination for film shooting.

Shooting of more than 25 Bollywood films was done in Darjeeling areas. Some of the famous Bollywood films which were shot in Darjeeling are: Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), China Town (1962), Aradhana (1969), Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992), Parineeta (2005), Barfi (2012) and Jagga Jasoos (2017).

But the Bollywood film producers and film producers from various other regions of the country like Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai are often unaware of the procedures to be followed for undertaking their shooting in Darjeeling toy train. They are often misguided by some touts, said a statement issued by NFR on Tuesday.

"Earlier producers had to come 2-3 times to Maligaon before finally going to Darjeeling. This forced them often to reschedule shooting programme. But from now, everything will be done online.

As the entire process can also be monitored by the applicant online, it also brings about transparency and ease of doing business with railways," said an official.

"They can upload scanned copies of the necessary documents by visiting the dashboard in the website. Their applications will be processed online as per existing guidelines. Production houses can also deposit the requisite fees online before undertaking the shooting," said the statement.