SHOOTING IN INDIA GUIDE LINES

Guidelines for Shooting of Feature Films:
Partly or Wholly In India by Foreigners
Proposals regarding shooting of TV/Movie feature film are processed in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Proposals may be sent either directly or through Indian Missions abroad.
It is only on the recommendation of this Ministry that other Ministries provide facilities to the film units. Proposals regarding shooting of documentary films are to be sent to the Ministry of External Affairs.
Four copies of the detailed shooting script along with its synopsis should be submitted for approval. In case any living personality is portrayed in the film as a character, the? No Objection' from that personality or his/her legal heirs should be obtained and a photocopy of the same should accompany the script.
In case of a co-production, the detailed agreement between the Indian and foreign party indicating clearly the role of each party-its responsibilities and liabilities? Is required to be furnished for specific clearance.
Detailed particulars of the members of the filming team including the number and validity dates of their passports, country of issuance of passport, nationality, permanent and temporary addresses etc., the team's itinerary into Indian on temporary basis should be furnished to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for specific clearance at least one month in advance.
On the basis of the scrutiny of the script and other details of the proposal, approval of the proposal will be given by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting subject to certain procedural regulations detailed below. It takes nearly 10-12 weeks to convey to give a formal undertaking (given below) about adhering to these requirements.
The film should be shot according the script as approved by the Government of India. In case any material deviation is considered necessary, prior permission of the Government of India (Ministry of Information & Broadcasting) should be obtained.
All shooting should be done in the presence of a Liaison Officer who will be provided by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Besides helping the team in obtaining local permissions etc., the Liaison Officer's duties include ensuring that nothing detrimental to the image of India or the Indian people is shot or included in the film. Should any disagreement arise in the respect, the matter is to be refereed to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, whose decision will be final. The Liaison Officer will travel and stay with the filming team.
Shooting on locations in India will be subject to permission being granted by respective controlling authorities. Request for such permission may, however, be routed through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
In case assistance is required to be provided by the Ministry of Defence, Education etc., separate agreement as stipulated by these Ministries will require to be signed with them. Requests for such assistance may be routed through Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The completed film wherein assistance by Armed Forced has been rendered should be shown to the Ministry of Defence for clearance before its release for public exhibition. This is apart from the requirements mentioned below.
The producer will have to observe all rules and regulations relating to Import/Export and Foreign Exchange in connection with shooting of the film.
The exposed film /rushes will be dispatched out of the country as cargo and not as part of the baggage.
The completed film should be shown to a representative of the Government of India in India or in Indian Mission abroad before its release anywhere in the world. In case it is proposed to show the film to any Indian Mission abroad, the Mission should be specified in advance in the undertaking to be given by the producer.
Where expenditure in foreign exchange on the part of Indian co-producer is involved, he is required to give a bank guarantee for repatriation of two times of the foreign exchange to be released and equal to the amount Involved in foreign collaborators, technicians/artistes etc., in India.
For release of foreign exchange, the Indian co-producer will have to approach Ministry of Information and Broadcasting giving full details of the film crew visiting from abroad, number of days for which shooting will take place and breakup of the estimated expenditure to be incurred in foreign exchange.
The foreign collaborator is not allowed any remittance of commission related either to box office receipts or profits or exhibition of the film in India.
FORM OF UNDERTAKING
Date: Place:
To, The Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India , New Delhi
Subject:
Sir/Madam,
With reference to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's letter No____ dated_____, we hereby give the following undertakings:
Shooting of the film will be done in locations in India in accordance with the script as approved by the Government of India. If we consider any material changes are necessary in the script, we shall obtain the prior approval of theGovernment of India for such changes
We shall furnish the detailed particulars of the members of the shooting team and the exact locations where the shooting would take place in India at least one month in advance of the arrival of the team in India . We note that prior approval of the Government of India is necessary for the composition of the team and for the fixing of locations for shooting.
We note that in the case of assistance to be obtained from other Ministries such as Defence, Education, etc., separate agreements as stipulated by these Ministries, are required to be signed with them.
We shall shoot the film only in the presence of a Liaison Officer to be attached to the team by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
We accept that part of the Liasion Officer's duty will be to ensure that nothing detrimental in the depiction of India or the Indian people shall be shot or included in the film. In the event of any disagreement arising between the team and the Liaison Officer in this respect, the matter will be immediately referred to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, whose decision will be final.
We undertake to show our completed film to the representatives of the Government of India in India/ the Indian Mission in*-(*Name of the country)- for scrutiny and we further undertake to delete and destroy the portions of the film that may be found objectionable on such scrutiny by the Government of India, before the film is utilized for public exhibition anywhere in the world.
After shooting of the film is completed in India , we shall provide, in duplicate, to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting a narrative report about the details of shooting done in India .
Archaeological Survey of India(For Filming At Protected Monuments)
Archaeological Survey of India, an attached office of the Department of Culture, Government of India, protects and maintains about 5000 monuments/archaeological sites scattered in different geographical zones of the country. With a view to propagate the rich cultural heritage of the country, Archaeological Survey of India issues licences for filming protected monuments and Archaeological sites of national importance. Foreign national who intend to make documentary/feature films, with or without cast as the case may be, have to obtain official clearance from the Publicity Wing of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of Government of India respectively.
Procedures/Formalities 1 Every person intending to undertake filming at a protected monument / site has to apply to the Director General ASI at least three months before the proposed date of commencement of filming.
Documentaries: For filming documentaries (Video Film/cinematographic Film) in centrally protected monuments /sites by professionals and other agencies licence fee of Rs. 5000/- is charged per monument/site. (Bank a Demand Draft to be obtained in the name of Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi .) If the commercial documentary involves cast, if any, besides licence fees Rs. 10,000/- is to be deposited in the General Post Office as security pledge to the President of India and the pass book has to be submitted to the Director General's office. If any person intends to undertake video filming from exterior of a centrally protected monument / site listed under second schedule for non-commercial and does not involve any cast and use of a stand, a fee of Rs. 25/- is charged at booking counters available in such monuments.
FEATURE FILMS: If any person/professional/agency/company intends to shoot a commercial feature film which involves cast at centrally protected monuments/ sites besides licence fees of Rs. 5000/- per monument, security deposit of Rs. 10,000/- needs to be pledges to the President of India in the General Post Office and the Pass book is retained in the Office of the Director General A.S.I. Pass book shall be returned for release of security deposit from the concerned post office immediately after the receipt of ?No Damage Certification? in respect of the Site/Monument from the concerned Superintending Archaeologist of the Circles and on receipt a VHS copy (free of cost) of the portion of the film shot at the monument/site from the party. Licences granted by the Director General ASI are subject to the following conditions.
• Licence shall not be transferable and shall be valid for the period specified therein. • The filming operation shall be restricted to that part of the monument in respect to which the licence has been granted .( c) The filming operation shall not obstruct or hamper the movement of persons who may lawfully be within the precincts of the monument and any other condition which the Director General ASI may specify in the licence. All correspondence relating to issue of licence shall be addressed to:- The Director General, Archaeological survey of India , Janpath, New Delhi-110001 India.

APPLICATION FOR LICENCE OF FILMING OPERATION AT PROTECTED MONUMENT(S) (UNDER RULE 43)
1. Name of the applicant and address:_________________________________________
2. Name of the monuments at which the proposed filming operation is to be carried out:______________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Locality____________________________ District_______________ State_____________________
4. Part of the monuments proposed to be filmed: ______________________________________________________
5. Nature and purpose of the filming operation and the context in which the monument is proposed to be filmed (relevant extract of the script should be attached in triplicate and details of the scenes to be filmed should be furnished in triplicate):______________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Number of persons in the cast:__________________________________________________________________________
7. Approximate duration and date of commencement of proposed filming operation:_________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
I declare that the above information is correct. I also undertake to observe the provisions of the Ancient Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, and the Rules made thereunder.
Seal of the Organisation
Station:
Signature of the Applicant
Date: