Are Delhi’s college campuses shoot-friendly ?

DU still a fave with filmmakers, Jamia opens door for shoots, JNU no recent film shoots
Last month, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali visited Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) for a recce to shoot a portion of 'Love Aaj Kal’s sequel at the university’s laboratory. The shoot didn’t happen finally as the lab did not meet Imtiaz’s requirements. In the same month, the crew of Kangana Ranaut and Jassie Gill’s upcoming 'Panga' visited the varsity to check if they could shoot a few scenes of the film there. While Delhi University (DU) remains a Bollywood favourite, JMI is the newest campus to throw open its doors for filmmakers. While many ad shoots have already taken place at JMI, the university is now open for film shoots on its campus as well.
However, even as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was extensively shown in the Sonam Kapoor-Dhanush starrer 'Raanjhanaa' (2013), the film wasn’t actually shot there, as JNU is yet to give its nod to film shoots. Delhi’s line producers say that no film has been shot at JNU, at least in the last five years, “because it is a tedious process to take permission.” Here’s a look at some of the capital’s college campuses and how shoot-friendly they are:

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Half Girlfriend

' was shot in St Stephen’s, Miranda House and SRCC


Beautiful architecture, the right vibe and Easy permission – why DU colleges are a hit with filmmakers
In the last one year, films like the Salman Khan-starrer 'Bharat', Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani’s 'Kabir Singh' and Kangana Ranaut and Jassie Gill-starrer 'Panga' were shot in different DU colleges. Manishh Mehra, a line producer, tells us, “In DU, colleges like SRCC, Hansraj, Miranda House and St Stephen’s are in high demand because of their architecture. Aur sabko wahi dikhana hota hai. The management and students’ union of these colleges are well aware of the needs of a film crew, and there is hardly any problem in getting permission.”

'Raazi' was shot at Miranda House

Shooting in these colleges can be an expensive affair, but filmmakers don’t seem to mind. “The colleges’ staff and union are aware of the fact that if a director wants to shoot a movie in their college, they will do so without thinking about money. These are sought-after locations, so the cost for shooting here is quite high. It takes Rs 2-2.5 lakh to shoot for a day in a college in North Campus,” explains Navneet Singh, another line producer.

Kangana Ranaut starrer 'Panga' was extensively shot at

Lady Irwin College

Jassie Gill shot for 'Panga' with Kangana Ranaut in DU

DU’s ambience helped us recreate Panga's college scenes perfectly: Jassie Gill
“We shot at Lady Irwin College for three days and only for a day at Miranda House. There were not many students while we were shooting there but the ambience and infrastructure of these places helped us recreate the college scenes perfectly. These are beautiful locations in Delhi and we needed them to show the college life in the movie,” says Jassie Gill.

Off-campus colleges in demand too
It’s not just North Campus colleges that are in demand. An off-campus college which became a popular venue for shoots last year is Lady Irwin College. Films like 'Panga', 'Bharat', 'Kabir Singh' and a few web series were shot at the college. Nikita Tiwari, former president of the college, tells us, “The students’ union is the link between the college administration and the film’s team. Students ko manage karna, crew ki help karna, yeh sab kaam hota hai union ka.”

Arjun Kapoor while shooting for 'Half Girlfriend' in DU

Arjun Kapoor: People told us they were excited to see their college on screen
Humein inn colleges mein shoot karne ki permission mil gayi, hamari aukaat toh utni hi thi... Ali Abbas Zafar, who directed me in 'Gunday', is from Kirori Mal College, where Bachchan sir also studied. I visited that college with him (Zafar) and heard stories about it. I have met many people who have studied in DU. After realising how difficult it is to get admission here, I have new-found respect for those who got in. We now feel even more privileged to have got the opportunity to walk through the doors of such reputed colleges. While promoting the film, people told us that they were excited to see their college in the film’s promos.

Sonam Kapoor in 'Raanjhanaa' which was not shot at JNU

‘Getting shoot permission in JNU is a tedious process’
We ask Poonam Kudaisya, PRO, JNU, about the number of film shoots that have taken place at JNU in recent years, and she tells us, “No film has been shot in JNU in the last five years.” We also tried contacting Pramod Kumar, Registrar, JNU, to understand why, but did not get a response. Line producers tell us that there have been instances when they tried getting permission for film shoots, but the administration never got back. “JNU mein bahut pehle apply kiya tha ek film shoot ke liye, they did not reply. Phir humne phirse nahi kiya apply,” says Navneet. Manishh adds, “JNU ke campus mein woh filmi look bhi nahi hai. The campus is spread across various buildings and locations. So if a filmmakers needs a wider shot to show the campus, toh shots nahi mil paate hain.” "JNU never gives permission for film shoots. That is why for 'Raanjhanaa' (which shows Sonam Kapoor studying in JNU), we had to shoot at Amity School in Noida," says Ravi Sarin, line producer.

Jamia’s plans to attract filmmakers
A film shoot brings decent revenue and funds for a university, and that could be one of the reasons JMI has opened its doors for film shoots starting this year. “Earlier, there was no one point of contact to organise these shoots, so the process to get permission for film shoots would take a long time. But now we are ensuring that the filmmakers and line producers know that they should approach the PRO’s office for shoots. The price will depend on the number of days and the location that a film’s crew will demand, but the minimum amount will be approximately Rs 50,000 for a day,” says Ahmad Azeem, PRO, JMI.

Imtiaz Ali was at JMI scouting for locations

Kabir Singh was shot at several DU colleges including KMC, Lady Irwin and Miranda House