Central Railway's Apta station is Bollywood's most preferred film shooting location after CSMT station
Rajendra B Aklekar (MID-DAY; July 30, 2020)

Central Railway's Apta Railway continues to be the most popular film shooting location after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Railway (CSMT) Station.

In the financial year 2019-20, four films were shot at Apta Railway station, including Raat Akeli Hai, Mumbai Saga, and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, and eight films were shot at CSMT, including popular films such as Panga, Choked and Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari.

Speaking to mid-day, Central Railway's chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said, "Apta station is encompassed in camera in numerous film, including the most popular films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Rang De Basanti, Baaghi, Khakee, Shaadi No. 1, 36 China Town, and many other box-office hit films."

Sutar added, "Apta is known for his scenic location with hill on one side and a road nearby a river on the other side and easy road accessibility. Located on the Panvel-Roha route with curvy track and platforms, there is ample space for keeping equipments and parking vanity vans. Such a station with less crowd is a perfect location for film shooting."

Few trains are given a halt at the Apta Railway Station and it is a crossing station. It also has an additional track which makes doubly sweet for the movement of special trains booked for film shooting. Apta is just a 2 hours journey, about 75 km from the Film City, Mumbai. Thereby, Apta Railway Station has become the most preferred location for film shooting of web series, documentaries, and TV serials.

Central Railway has been gifted with many beautiful film shooting locations fulfilling the requirements of the filmmakers. From the most preferred film shooting location Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to the popular stations like Apta, Panvel, Chouk, Lonavala, Khandala, Wathar, Satara and railway yards like Turbhe and Wadi bunder, they have it all.

The permission for the film shooting is granted by the public relations department of Central Railway. Recently to expedite the film shooting permission, a single-window system has been introduced. This simplification of the procedure will enable the filmmakers to obtain permission after submission of the necessary documents along with the script and application mentioning the requirements.

Central Railway earned Rs 1.33 crore from 21 film shootings in 2019-20. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Station earned Rs 44.52 lakh with 8 film shootings including the film 'Panga', while Apta Railway Station earned Rs 22.61 lakh with 4 film shootings. The highest amount of Rs 22.10 lakh was earned from Rajnikant starrer 'Darbaar' shot at Panvel Station. The scenic location Wathar in Pune division earned Rs 37.22 lakh from shooting of three films, including Salman starrer 'Dabangg 3' from which they earned Rs 15.70 lakh, a shot of film 'Laal Singh Chaddha' between Pune to Mumbai and other film shooting locations like Turbhe and Wadi bunder yard.

Though the movement is restricted to contain the spread of COVID-19, Central Railway is hopeful that the beauty of Apta and other such locations will be seen in the movies soon.

About Apta railway station:
Apta railway station is located on the Panvel-Roha route of Central Railway and is situated in Raigad district of Maharashtra. The station is 83.24 km from CSMT via Diva junction. While the station code is APTA, it belongs to the Mumbai Railway division of Central Railway.