Delhi Metro attracts filmmakers for shooting, promotion

New Delhi: The Delhi Metro not just changed the way people commute in the city, but also gave Indian filmmakers a new spot to shoot and promote their projects at.

As `Metro Man` E.Sreedharan hanged up his boots Saturday after an eventful 15-year tenure as the Delhi Metro chief, IANS takes a lowdown on the films associated with the easy mode of transport. The star-studded cast of Abbas-Mustan`s "Players" -- Abhishek Bachchan, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Sonam Kapoor - stepped into the Airport Express Metro to promote the movie, releasing Jan 6, 2012. Even superstar Shah Rukh Khan kept aside his star status and travelled like the Delhi common man to spread a buzz about his mega production "RA.One". He also took the Metro route with Priyanka Chopra, director Farhan Akhtar and producer Ritesh Sidhwani for "Don 2 - The King Is Back". Actors Manoj Bajpayee, Tia Bajpai and Maqbool Khan started their Metro promotional ride from the capital`s Shivaji Stadium for their film "Lanka", and actor Emraan Hashmi chose the busiest, Rajiv Chowk Metro station for promoting "The Dirty Picture". It`s quite a feat to plan such marketing gimmicks at such locations considering thousands of commuters pass through each day. Some star-struck passengers love the surprise chance to see their favourite celebrity, while some feel it delays the travel as celebrity events tend to create chaos at times. However, that has not deterred filmmakers from getting permission to shoot films either at the Metro stations, or even within the Metro itself. In 2006, Subhash Ghai`s "Black and White" was shot in the Metro. But it was in 2008 that most filmmakers were tempted to shoot at the new, attractive spot. Anurag Kashyap`s "Dev.D", Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra`s "Delhi-6" and Imtiaz Ali`s " Love Aaj Kal" were shot in the capital`s Metro. In the next year, R.Balakrishnan also decided to shoot bits of a song sequence for Amitabh Bachchan-starrer "Paa" in the Metro. Most recently, the team of Mahesh Bhatt`s "Jannat 2" shot in the Airport Express, with Emraan Hashmi and Randeep Hooda in the frame. Now, Mallika Sherawat and Viveik Oberoi-starrer "Kismat, Love, Paisa, Dilli", is expected to be shot at the Airport Express too. IANS