Film production
Film production transport, run to the call sheet
A call sheet is a dispatch board with better typography. Talent at the hotel at 5:40, unit at the location by 6:30, a recce van for the location manager, a return for the DOP who wraps at midnight. We read the sheet, assign the vehicles, and bill the production on one invoice.
What a production books
Five vehicle roles on a shoot
Talent cars
S-Class, 7 Series or V-Class for the lead cast: tinted, unmarked, a chauffeur who has signed the production's confidentiality agreement and knows the studio gate, the vanity-van position and the hotel's back entrance.
Director and heads of department
E-Class and Fortuner for the director, producer, DOP and production designer, on the hourly clock so the car is there at wrap whether wrap is six or midnight.
Unit and crew vans
Executive Tempo Travellers and Urbanias for the crew, one manifest per van, timed to the unit call and collected from the unit hotel.
Recce and location vehicles
Innova Hycross and Land Cruisers for location managers and the recce team, on roads that are not roads yet: the Thar, the Western Ghats, the Ladakh passes.
Equipment and runners
MPVs with the seats down for camera and sound, and a runner car on standby at base for the errand nobody planned.
Airport and festival moves
Cast and crew arrivals at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and the location airport, and the red-carpet cars at IFFI Goa, the awards nights and the premieres.
How it runs
From the pre-production meeting to the wrap invoice
- Pre-production The line producer sends the schedule and the crew list. The desk builds a vehicle plan by shoot day with named chauffeurs for talent.
- The night before The call sheet arrives; vehicles, pickup times and phone numbers are confirmed back to the production office and the second AD by WhatsApp.
- On the day A transport coordinator on the desk tracks every vehicle. Changes to the sheet are absorbed on the phone, not re-quoted.
- Wrap Cars wait for wrap on the hourly clock. Late wraps roll at the agreed rate; nobody is left at a location.
- The invoice One GST invoice per production, itemised by shoot day, vehicle and role, matched to the production's transport budget lines.
Where the industry shoots
Studios, film cities and production hubs
15 facilities Mumbai for Hindi cinema and advertising, Hyderabad for Telugu and the big studio floors, Chennai for Tamil, Bengaluru for Kannada, plus the location states with facilitation cells.
- Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari (Film City)Mumbai, IndiaGoregaon East complex of the Maharashtra Film, Stage & Cultural Development Corporation, operating since 1977 with 16 studios and 78 outdoor locations.
- Yash Raj Films StudiosMumbai, IndiaAndheri West production, sound and post-production complex of YRF.
- Mehboob StudioMumbai, IndiaBandra West stages.
- Kamalistan StudioMumbai, IndiaJogeshwari stages founded by Kamal Amrohi.
- Filmistan StudiosMumbai, IndiaGoregaon West stages on SV Road.
- Ramoji Film CityHyderabad, IndiaDescribes itself as the world's largest film city, combining working sets with a theme park.
- Annapurna StudiosHyderabad, India22-acre studio founded by Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Banjara Hills.
- Prasad StudiosChennai, IndiaSaligramam stages and labs of the Prasad group.
- AVM StudiosChennai, IndiaVadapalani stages of one of India's oldest surviving studios.
- Innovative Film CityBengaluru, IndiaStudio and theme-park complex at Bidadi on the Mysuru road.
- Kanteerava StudiosBengaluru, IndiaState-backed studio at Nandini Layout founded in 1966 for Kannada cinema; the Rajkumar family memorials are on the grounds.
- Chitranjali StudioThiruvananthapuram, IndiaKerala State Film Development Corporation studio established in 1980 at Thiruvallam, about 7 km from the city.
- Noida Film CityNoida, IndiaSector 16A cluster of television and film studios.
- Technicians' StudioKolkata, IndiaTollygunge studio of the Bengali film industry.
- Film Facilitation Office (FFO), NFDCDelhi, IndiaMinistry of Information & Broadcasting single-window portal (ffo.gov.in) for shooting permissions; standard applications are processed in about three weeks.
Location work
Rajasthan forts, Goa beaches, Kerala backwaters, Ladakh passes
Location shoots are where transport decides the schedule. Jodhpur and Jaisalmer for the desert, Udaipur for the palaces, Goa for the coast, Munnar and Alappuzha for Kerala, Leh and Spiti for the mountains. The desk supplies vehicles from the nearest city, chauffeurs who know the location roads, and the airport moves for cast flying in for the day. Foreign productions get the same service in English, with the Film Facilitation Office's permissions handled by the line producer and the vehicles handled by us.
Primary sources
Film bodies
- Indian e-Visa: check application statusTrack a submitted e-Visa application by application ID and passport number.
- National Film Development CorporationThe agency behind the Film Facilitation Office and the incentive scheme.
- International Film Festival of India, GoaFestival dates and venues each November.
56 countries RUTZ.IN chauffeurs across India, Limousine Association International affiliates everywhere else
Book
Single cars book here; units are quoted
A talent car or an airport move for one person prices instantly. Send the shoot schedule through the contact page for a unit quote by shoot day.
Weddings, film units, multi-day chauffeur hire, outstation journeys and anything with more than one vehicle are quoted by a person: call (877) 860-3388 or send the outline and a coordinator replies with a written quote.