New Delhi, Nov 3: In a bid to ease filming in Railways, Film Facilitation Office (FFO) set up in National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and Ministry of Railways have integrated to create a single window filming mechanism to make the permission for filming across Railways premises streamlined and efficient.

Railways have always been a part of the cinematic experience of India. Many films have beautifully captured the Indian Railways on celluloid. The FFO has been set up with a view to ease filming in India and promote the country as a preferred destination for filmmakers from across the world. Its web portal is the single window facilitation and clearance mechanism for filming across India as well as the one-stop digital repository of information for filming in India.

Until now, International and Indian filmmakers (and/or their representatives) visit offices of Chief Public Relations Officers of 17 Zonal Railways and Railway Board (New Delhi) to submit applications for seeking film shooting permissions in Railways. 

Now after enabling FFO web portal (www.ffo.gov.in ) as single window facilitator, filmmakers can submit online applications for filming at various railway locations falling under jurisdiction of even more than one zonal railways in a centralized way. Once the application has been submitted, the concerned Officers in the zonal railways will be notified and they can access applications on FFO portal and upload permissions after due process of approval. This portal also provides a platform to the applicant as well as the permission granting authority to raise and address any queries regarding the application for transparent and timely execution of the shooting permission request.

The objective of the integration is to reduce the number of windows that producers have to access to get permissions for filming in various locations. The portal also provides a platform to the applicant as well as the permission granting authority to raise and address any queries regarding the application. This transparent ecosystem enables time bound execution of the shooting permission request.

Suneet Sharma, Chairman & CEO, Railway Board said “Indian Railways share a long association with Indian Cinema and it has always lent support to Indian Cinema for shooting of various movies, songs and documentaries. Indian Cinema has suitably reciprocated by showcasing Railways in a proper and aesthetic manner. This new ecosystem will service filmmakers across geographies. We welcome filmmakers to apply online for filming in various Railways premises and hope that the Railways will continue to be featured as a vibrant character in screenplays and narratives”.

In this regard, Apurva Chandra, Secretary I&B said, “The idea is to create value for filmmakers by way of easing filming across various jurisdictions like the Railways, which offer unique, distinctive locations that enhance the filming narrative. Our effort to integrate with various stakeholders is towards this endeavor. The Railways have always been an important part of India’s cinematic history and filmmakers must leverage this newly created ecosystem to weave India’s sprawling and picturesque Railway network into their narrative”.