New Delhi: The world's best superspy will be in India soon and this time he has a license to shoot. The new James Bond film by director Sam Mendes, with the working title Bond 23, will be shot in parts of India with the railway ministry giving a go-ahead for the shooting on its properties, with riders.
The USD 200 million movie, with actor Daniel Craig starring as the British spy, will be the second Bond film shot in India after Octopussy.
The Information and Broadcast ministry has allowed the film to be shot in India and some of the locations being explored are Goa, Ahmedabad and the Daryaganj, Sarojini Nagar areas in Delhi.
Some train stunts are to be shot in Konkan railways, Sabarmati in Gujarat and a couple of other locations falling under the jurisdiction of South Western railway, said an official in the Railway ministry.
The official said that letters have already been sent to the General Managers of Konkan railway, Western and South Western railway to allow the shooting of the film. India Take One productions, which is handling the film's production in the country, refused to divulge any details.
The movie, 23rd in the 007 franchise and produced by Hollywood studio MGM, is slated for a November 9, 2012 release and the shooting is expected to begin soon.
The film is the latest in the list of foreign productions being shot in India, some of which include the Julia Roberts starrer Eat Pray Love, Bipasha Basu-Josh Hartnett starrer Singularity and Judi Dench starrer The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Sources said though Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi was "positive" on the next Bond film being shot on Indian Railways properties, he wanted no "inconvenience to the passengers" in the process.
According to ministry officials, Take 1, which had sought permission to shoot for the next Bond film on rail tracks, submitted a final list of two locations each in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Goa on August 30.
What was worrying the ministry was the request of the company for "locking off the lines for seven-eight hours a day for seven days in a row". This would require train schedules to be reworked, said officials.
"We have asked the zonal railways to examine their requirements and get back to us. Whatever help is needed by them will be given," Chandralekha Mukherjee, executive director, information and publicity, railway ministry, told IANS Thursday.
She said the company had been told that during the shooting, it should not stop traffic, inconvenience passengers and pay all the dues to the local railway offices in case of damages to railway property.
She said providing a special train and doing some work in the coaches, as desired by the film production company, was not a problem.
Representatives of company recently met the minister in this regard, said sources.
The company intimated the railways it plans to shoot the Bond film in February-March 2012. The initial request for the shoot had come July 20 this year.
Officials said they want to be associated with the Bond film as it would get international publicity to the Indian Railways.
They said usually the ministry granted permission to around 15 such requests in a month but this one had generated a hype as it involved an internationally popular character.
Daniel Craig, who has starred as British spy James Bond in earlier films 'Casino Royale' and 'Quantum of Solace', will play the secret agent in the new film tentatively titled 'Bond 23'. (With additional information from agencies)
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