PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The historical building and sprawling campus of the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun has been used for shooting a number of movies and advertisements, many of which have been commercially successful. The FRI charges shooting fees from film makers and registered the highest revenue in 2023 earning Rs 32 lakh from film makers. However, the revenue from this source dropped drastically to Rs six lakh in 2023, information received through the Right To Information Act has revealed. This was revealed in response to an application under the RTI Act by RTI activist Raju Gusain, the FRI has provided 16-year data of revenue earned from film production. The data pertains to the period from 2009 to 2024.
Gusain said that getting permission for shooting involves official clearance and also a high fee, about Rs 75,000 per day. Due to this, mainly major production houses can afford shooting in FRI. The institute was used as a location in many movies including ‘Student of the Year’, ‘Dulhan Ek Raat Ki’, ‘Krishna Cottage’, ‘Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein’, ‘404’, ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, ‘Nanban’, ‘Dilli Khabar’, ‘Yaara’, ‘Genius’, ‘Dear Daddy’ and ‘Maharshi’, he said.
The FRI earned Rs 50,000 in 2009, Rs 6.25 lakh in 2010, Rs 7.50 lakh in 2011, Rs one lakh in 2012, Rs six lakh in 2013, Rs two lakh in 2014 and 2015, nothing in 2016, Rs 3.75 lakh in 2017, Rs 22 lakh in 2018, Rs 18 lakh in 2019, nothing in 2020 and 2021 (Covid lockdown), Rs four lakh in 2022, Rs 32.02 lakh in 2023 and Rs six lakh in 2024. The RTI reveals that FRI’s records from 2001-2008 related to revenue earned through shooting remain untraceable, Gusain informed.
