Western Railway's income from cinema shoots dips

Mumbai: The Western Railway’s (WR) earnings from film shootings at its premises reduced in the last financial year in comparison with figures of 2016-17. Revenue through shooting was Rs 1.14 crore in 2016-17 but only Rs 37.15 lakh in 2017-18. The figure stood at Rs 14.98 lakh in 2015-16.

The revenue of the film shooting in WR has been decreased by 67.41 per cent. The railway authorities has claimed that the income of film shooting has been decreased owing to an artificial railways set which have mushroomed in Andheri and other  suburbs. It means the filmmakers have preferred the artificial railways set over the real ones.

According to the WR, the reason behind the low income through the film shooting is artificial sets, which have come up in Mumbai.

A railways official said, “Multiple artificial set ups have come in areas of Andheri and other places, which have pinched us as they are charging very low in comparison with railways.”

He added that the artificial set ups are charging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. For which, WR charges in lakhs. However, the big producers and filmmakers do not go with artificial sets, as they want authentic locations to make their films look genuine.    

Speaking with The Asian Age, Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer of WR, “The income of film shooting fluctuates every year as it depends upon the film producer and maker whether the scripts demand the railway premises or not.”