Mumbai5 minutes agoAuthor: Virendra Mishra/Abhinav Tripathi
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Mud Island has become the best option for small film makers. Films can be shot here even on a low budget.
Mud Island, an island situated on the seashore of Mumbai. This place has become the first choice for shooting for small and new film makers. The reason is that cheap shooting locations are available here. Producers do not have to spend much money. Moreover, they do not have to go through much paperwork either.
Here you can rent bungalows for a day for Rs 15,000 to Rs 2 lakh. The advantage of shooting in a bungalow is that you don’t have to build a separate set. Movies and shows can be shot here at a much lower cost than the budget spent on building a set.
Most of the TV shows like Crime Patrol, Savdhan India and CID have been shot in Mud Island. Apart from this, many films like Amitabh Bachchan’s film Mard, Akshay Kumar’s film Laxmi Bomb, Kabir Singh, Singham Returns and Phir Hera Pheri have been shot here.
During the lockdown, Mud Island was in the news for a different reason. Actually, Mumbai’s Crime Branch had exposed a porn racket here. The Crime Branch team raided a bungalow in Mud Island. In this raid, it was found that adult content is made here in the name of films. Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra’s name also came up in this case.
In the new episode of Reel to Real, we will learn about Mud Island. Why is it easier to shoot films here than other places? What is the rent of bungalows here? Why is this place suitable for small film makers, we will talk on these points. For this, we spoke to the line producer, creative director and executive producer present there.
Mud Island is a mini film city, many bungalows and villas are located here
Mud Island is also called a mini film city. There are many villas and bungalows here, which have been shown in many films and TV shows. Shows like Crime Patrol and Savdhaan India are mainly shot here. The makers first do a recce of the bungalows here according to the sequence of their films or serials. Then they contact the bungalow owners here through the location manager.
If the makers want to show the story of a middle class family in their film, then they will rent a simple looking bungalow. Whereas if the story of the film revolves around a rich man, then luxury bungalows here are taken on rent.
Shooting in Film City has become more expensive than before, it is difficult for small producers to go there
After Film City, most of the shootings in Mumbai are happening in Mud Island, what are the reasons for this? In response, line producer Raja Randeep Giri said, ‘Shooting in Film City has become more expensive than before. That is why small producers are avoiding shooting there. In comparison, shooting in Mud Island is quite cheap. Here you can get a bungalow on rent even for Rs 15,000. The best thing is that you don’t have to run around much to get a bungalow on rent here. Whereas in Film City, many days are spent just in seeing the location.’
There are many bungalows here which were built 70-80 years ago. Such bungalows are used in films where some old structure has to be shown.
Film city is bound by rules and regulations, producers have to suffer
Executive producer Avinash said, ‘Today Mud Island has become the second largest shooting hub. The main reason for this is that there is no monopoly here. On the other hand, Film City is under the government. All the rules and regulations there are made by the government. New producers face a lot of problems in entering there. They have to go through a lot of paperwork. Apart from this, they do not even find anyone to show them the location.’
When we reached there, shooting of a film was going on. Cameras were installed at various places.
There are almost no wild animals here and the people are also very cooperative
Mud Island is also much better from the security point of view. According to creative director Dheeraj Mishra, the people here are of a very cooperative nature. There are very few incidents of crime here. Wild animals are also never seen. The administration here is also very efficient. On the other hand, there is always a fear in the film city that wild animals may come. Cheetahs and leopards have been seen roaming around in the film city many times.
Police station sets have also been built in Mud Island. The special thing is that these sets are not fake.
Mud Island has been infamous for shooting pornographic films
Despite everything being better, Mud Island has also been infamous for one thing. C-grade films were shot here till some time ago. This place was in the news in the Raj Kundra pornography case. The shooting of pornographic films here was exposed in a police raid. Since then, such films stopped being made here. Investigation revealed that adult films were shot here by renting a bungalow at the rate of Rs 20,000 per day.
This is the same bungalow where pornographic films were shot.
Best route to reach Madh Island
- It can be reached via a jetty from Versova, an area in Andheri West, Mumbai.
- Bus number 271 leaves from Malad Railway Station, this is also a good means of travelling.
- Apart from this, bus number 269 leaves from Borivali, one can also go through this route.
- If you want to go by your private vehicle, then you can go to Mud Island via the link road through Malwani. However, the shortest route is via Versova Jetty.
Akshay Kumar has been seen taking a ferry ride on the jetty many times. A ferry is a type of boat that takes a person from one place to another.
- Jetty is the place where goods are unloaded and loaded from ships. In a way, it can be called a small form of port. Apart from this, to go from one place to another through waterways, one has to first come to the jetty, then from there the journey is taken through ferry. Through ferry, a journey of hours is completed in just a few minutes.
- The fare for travelling by ferry ranges from Rs 5 to Rs 10. Apart from this, if you want to take your bike with you, then it will cost you 25 rupees more.
Ananya Pandey was also seen taking a ferry ride.
Mud Island is now becoming the choice of stars for living too
Mud Island also has bungalows and flats of big celebs like Mithun Chakraborty, Shakti Kapoor and Archana Puran Singh.
Famous actress and judge of many comedy shows Archana Puran Singh’s bungalow located in Mud Island.
Raja Randeep Giri told that earlier stars used to buy land several kilometers away from Mumbai and build farmhouses in places like Lonavala and Panvel. Now slowly their inclination is increasing towards Mud Island. This is because the climate here is completely different from Mumbai city. The sea is visible from wherever you look. The view here is amazing at sunrise and sunset.