On silver screen,Metro a symbol of urban Delhi

Over time,production houses have shown increasing interest in shooting on the Delhi Metro — last year,it featured in two movies and a few advertisements.

Metro officials maintain that the authority to grant shooting permission rests exclusively with DMRC Managing Director E Sreedharan,who is “quite strict and considers each application on a case-to-case basis”.

According to a clause in the terms and conditions for permission,the shoot has to be exactly like the synopsis or script submitted to the DMRC,and cannot project Delhi Metro in a negative light.

“There should not be any direct or indirect reference to terrorism and an undertaking to this effect has to be given to us,” a DMRC spokesperson said.

The movies that were shot on the Delhi Metro this year showed it clean,tidy and without any crowd. The shooting was done mostly during non-operational or off-peak hours to avoid inconvenience to commuters.

“The sequences in Paa were shot early on a Sunday morning on the Dwarka elevated stretch when the ridership is low. The producers wanted an empty train for the brief sequence,and it could be made available only during off-peak hours on a weekend,” the official told Newsline.

But shooting on the Metro comes for a price. The minimum charges (license fee) for one hour of shooting inside the Metro premises costs as much as Rs 1 lakh,excluding service tax.

“There are separate charges for a special train and shooting inside it. The special train is available only on its return trip,for which Rs 66,264 is charged on the basis of Rs 22 per head for 1,506 passengers,” the official said.

A refundable security deposit of Rs 5 lakh is also taken before the shoot. Also,an indemnity bond,an undertaking on Rs 50 stamp paper and a comprehensive insurance of Rs 2.5 crore on Metro property,which includes rolling stock,Metro structures,staff and equipment,are mandatory,the official said.