Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria comes to to Bollywood’s aid
Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria said once filmmakers get the NOCs no cop will interfere with their work.
Producer Ritesh Sidhwani recently had a meeting with Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria to discuss the topic of shooting outdoors in the city.
The filmmaker will soon start shooting for ‘Three Stories’, a co-production with Hollywood studio Relativity Media in Mumbai next week. However, while discussing the shoot locations for the film along with his team, executive producers, Arunima Roy and Pooja Gupta, suggested they shift to Pune as shooting in Mumbai was expensive and taxing due to red tapism.
Speaking about his meeting with Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria, Ritesh said: “I’d never met Rakesh Maria but I called up the Police Commissioner and told him about my EPs grievances, pointing out that shooting in the city can help boost tourism. He instantly agreed to meet them and after a one-hour session called me back to assure me of his support. He added that stringent action will be taken against anyone trying to disrupt the shoot and harass the unit. He’s promised to a single-window system to make the process of getting permissions, easier and quicker.”
The Police Commissioner has also said that in the future, filmmakers will need to approach headquarters and apply for permission to the Mumbai Police Theatre Branch, a month before the shoot. The application will then be forwarded to the traffic police and the local police stations in the planned shooting locations. And once they get the NOCs no cop will interfere with their work.
Rakesh Maria and Ritesh Sidhwani have also decided to have a discussion with other filmmakers about their concerns regarding shooting in the city.
Source:: Indian Express
