What should accompany your application:

You need to send a simple letter, telling us of your intention to film in India mentioning the dates of filming, particulars of the cast and crew, and your chosen location. Please send your letter to the relevant address a month before your planned filming schedule, and enclose four copies of the final detailed filming script, a draft / pay order for US$ 200 or equivalent drawn in favour of Pay & Accounts Officer, Ministry of I&B (MS), New Delhi. The above charge is only in respect of feature films.

Should you wish to bring your own filming equipment, please send us a list of the equipment to be temporarily imported. This will enable us to make a recommendation to the customs authorities to exempt the temporary import from customs duty.

Your permission will normally not take more than two weeks to process; in some cases, a period of three weeks may be required. The permission letter issued by the Government of India will facilitate your permission from other local authorities which may in some cases need to be obtained directly from these authorities.

In case any living personality is portrayed in the film as a character, we suggest that you share the script with that personality or his/her legal heirs, before beginning the filming and obtain a no objection letter. This letter will expedite the clearance of your application and also guard against the possibility of any defamation or libel suits. If your film is a co-production, a copy of the agreement between your company and the Indian party indicating the role of each party, its responsibilities and liabilities, must accompany the application.

In case you intend to film in the scenic but sensitive areas of Jammu and Kashmir, north-eastern India or border belts your application will be considered for specific approval in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs. In such cases you would need to allow more time to process your application.

What the Indian Mission in your country will do for you

Do submit the detailed particulars of all the members of the filming team to the Indian Mission in the country from which they would be departing for India, at any time indicating your intention to film in India. Our Mission will issue visas in the normal course.

Other Things you may want to know

An expert panel constituted for this purpose will scrutinise your script. If considered necessary to facilitate the filming, a liaison officer may be attached to the filming team. This officer will help you to get local clearances and provide an interface with any local institutions,. Where a liaisons officer is so attached to the filming team, the Government of India will bear his expenses. In exceptional cases, you may need to show the completed film to a representative of the Government of India, in India or in an Indian Mission abroad before its release anywhere in the world. This requirement will apply only to films made on subjects of political religious or socio- cultural sensitivity and is focused on ensuring that the film has been made in accordance with the scrutinised script and that the film has nothing objectionable from the point of view of presentation of a correct and balanced perspective on the topic covered.

With an all India network of offices, with its headquarters in Mumbai, NFDC acts as a one stop solution to all film production requirements.

We can provide:

Locations: For more information on regions and landscapes of India, please log on to:

Talent: Actors, models, extras, singers, dancers, etc.

Technicians: Art directors, cameramen, costume designers, directors, editors, lyricists, make up stylists, music directors, photographers, script writers, sound recordists, etc.

Equipment: 35mm/16mm cameras (ARRI and PANAVISION), HD camera, jibs and cranes, dollys and panthers, steadycams, lenses and filters, lighting equipment and lights, motion control rigs and gribs, generators, follow cars, DVD hard disk based sound recorders, mikes and booms, etc.

Post production facilities: Digital Intermediate (D.I.), editing (linear and non-linear), grading at telecines, processing and printing, visual effects, computer graphics, animation (2D, 3D, Claymation), sound mixing (rerecording).

Travel and Accommodation: Access to any part of the country with all sorts of boarding and lodging facilities.

Apart from the above, access to any legal procedures through experienced hands in the entertainment industry for the following:

1. Government permissions
   
   
2. Legal contracts and agreements
   
   
3. Clearing and forwarding/customs
   
   
4. Film finance and insurances

Please provide us with the following information while making your enquiry:

• Name of the Company
  
• Applicant’s name and designation
  
• Your contact address, email, telephone nos
  
• Project title and language
  
• Nature of project (Film/TV/Docu/Ad Film)
  
• Synopsis in English
  
• Duration of filming in India
  
• No. of crew travelling to India
  
• Equipment and gear to be brought into India.