Christopher Nolan Granted Permission To Shoot For His Film Tenet In Mumbai In Record Speed!

Jyothi Venkatesh

The acclaimed Hollywood director Christopher Nolan surprised his Indian fans as he quietly arrived in Mumbai to shoot his upcoming film, Tenet in and around Colaba and Kemps Corner amidst heavy security. The shoot went on smoothly and security was given by the police to ensure Nolan could complete filming without any hindrances, though shooting in Mumbai and even other parts of the country can be quite a task. Getting permissions is an uphill process as there are so many different departments from where permission has to be sought. Even Tom Cruise wanted to shoot a chunk of the film Mission Impossible: Fallout in Kashmir but he was not given permission. The team of his earlier film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol had to recreate Mumbai in Vancouver because, in Tom Cruise’s words, “he was not allowed to shut down streets.”

Even if one passes through the permission stage with flying colours, getting the hoot done smoothly can also be a challenge. In 2016 when the makers of Victoria & Abdul faced the wrath of Bajrang Dal in Agra against the installation of Queen Victoria’s statue in Mehtab Bagh. The filmmakers panicked and left and shot the Agra portions in London. However, as far as the shoot of Tenet, the process was completely hassle-free despite the fact that the venue of filming was the crowded lanes of Colaba.This ‘Mission Impossible’ happened, because Prakash Javedekar, the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister, played a huge role in getting this done. Christopher Nolan arrived in Mumbai last year for an event hosted by Film Heritage Foundation’s Shivendra Singh Dungarpur on the need for the restoration and preservation of films.

During his four-day stay in the Maximum City, he decided to shoot a portion of Tenet here. He came to Mumbai again in February and April 2019 for the recce and also to get permissions. In a surprising move, Prakash Javedekar, on behalf of the producers, ensured that permission from the various departments was obtained for the shoot of Tenet by getting for the first time ever; a single-window clearance system. Getting the permission can take weeks or even months. But guess what, in case of Tenet, the producers secured the permission in approximately one week and what's more shot in just six days on a whopping cost of 42.5 crore Indian rupees, employing 4 Indian actors and 2000 extras!

The departments and people from whom the permission was sought in record time are Joint Secretary of Ministry of Defence, CMO of Maharashtra, Commissioner of Police Mumbai, Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai, Director General of Civil Aviation, Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, MD of Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation Ltd, Mumbai City Collector, Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust, Chief Secretary of Government of Maharashtra, Vice Admiral and Flag Officer, Commanding in Chief of Western Naval Command, DCP (City), Commissioner of Customs, DCP of Mumbai Traffic Police Headquarters and BMC. We have conveyed our thanks to all of them with the request for further support.”

According to  “Prakash Javedekar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi want to enable the ease of doing business in the field of entertainment. Mr Modi had met celebrities earlier this year twice, once in Delhi and once in Mumbai, and had taken note of the obsolete laws and other problems plaguing the film industry. When the government learnt that a respected filmmaker like Christopher Nolan wants to shoot Merry Go Round (Tenet’s working title during pre-production) in Mumbai, they realized it’s a golden opportunity to commence the single-window clearance system. Also, Tenet is a huge film and hence, the message is given loud and clear that filmmakers from all over the world are welcome to shoot anywhere in India and that they’ll be given permissions easily and quickly,”

According to bollywoodhungama.com, The website of Film Facilitation Office (FFO) was launched by I&B ministry in 2016 to secure permissions and from now on, this website promises to bypass all the hassles the filmmakers have faced in the past. And not just foreign productions, even the Indian filmmakers can take the advantage of single window clearance mechanism.” Tenet is not the only instance where th to develop online siomgle window facilitation for state level local permissions and integrate teh sdame with our web portale government proved that shooting in India is now easy. Last month, the I&B ministry held an India Breakfast Networking session at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The Indian delegation present at the session informed participants about the FFO and that things have changed for the better in India.

The minister says, "We have developed online single window facilitation through web portal that provides them F Visa, This process is within 20 days at national level by approaching Ministries of government of India as many of them have integrated their web portal with  our web portal. We are in the process of integrating states in the process and you gave already requested all Chief Ministers to develop online single window facilitation for state level local permissions and and integrate the same with our web portal."

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