Film shoots at CSMT rake in moolah

The Central Railway (CR) is reaping the benefits of the charm of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). The heritage building, used in film and advertising shoots, helped the CR authorities earn over Rs 1 crore. Between April 2017 and March 2018, the tourist spot witnessed 16 such shoots.

Of the 16 shoots, four happened at CSMT, three at Wadi Bunder (near Carnac Bunder) and one at Reay Road station. The highest paying shoot of all was the shooting of Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh-starrer Gully Boy that brought in Rs 15.32 lakh in January this year. out of the 16 shoots, 12 were for feature films, an ad film, web series and a documentary. While the number of shoots was the same in 2016-17, the earnings saw a 36 per cent jump, earning around Rs 74 lakh.

The highest revenue was earned by Gully Boy which had shoots for two days in January at the Wadi Bunder yard. The site was also used by the upcoming Netflix series Sacred Games. Apta continued to be favoured by filmmakers and had four shots in the last year. The station has been featured in numerous bollywood blockbusters most notably Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and recently in Baaghi.

Bengali film Kabir was also shot at CSMT and the makers of the film also hired a coach on the Shalimar Express that runs between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Howrah. LTT will also feature in the Discovery series Might Train, while Reay Road stations and Kurla Car Shed will be part of the Nawazuddin Siddiqui starring biopic of Saadat Hasan Manto.