Indian Railways Featured in Bollywood Movies

Bollywood features Indian Railways in many of its iconic movies. Kasto Maja Hai Railyai Ma, the song actually justifies the adventure and fun of the train journey. Indian Cinema features Rail and its journey to bring a special track to movies.

Indian Railways have always supported Bollywood for shooting purposes, from action to romantic scenes. Many films completely revolve around the story of a train journey. That is Why Indian Cinema always expresses a gesture of gratitude to the Indian Railways for such a great favour.

Many Bollywood movies are still remembered because the film or some of its popular scenes are picturised on trains. These are epic Indian movies and scenes. “Ja Simran Ja, Jee le Apni Zindagi” and “life mei aajtak maine eek train bhi miss nahi ki” are some famous dialogues and scenes from films that make Indian Railways the Star of Bollywood.

Indian Railways Featured in Top Bollywood Movies

Railways not only commute people from one place to another but also inspires personalities of Bollywood like filmmakers, lyricists, storytellers and writers. They take immense pleasure in shooting films and songs on railways. Here is the list of popular films and songs where Indian Railways have been featured:

Jab We Met 

You just can’t ignore the enthusiasm and excitement of the character Geet from the movie “Jab We Met”. Her love for the train journey and herself is perfectly picturised in the movie. She is a happening and fun-loving girl who lives her life on the concept that there is no tomorrow. The movie starts with the station and train scene where she runs to catch the moving train. She had never missed a train in her life. The sparkling performance by Kareena Kapoor and freshly served love stories by the expert storyteller Imtiaz Ali work as a watermelon juice in the scorching heat. Whenever you plan a train journey, recall Geet’s character and the movie where the director has beautifully portrayed the fun and love of the train journey.

You must have heard the station name Ratlam where many of you board your train, or your train passes through this station. Some movie scenes are picturised at Ratlam Railway station, where the movie takes a twisted turn. Geet misses her train and blames Aditya, the role played by Shahid Kapoor, that she missed her train because of him. She forces him to take her to her destination Bhatinda, and from here, the love journey begins between the two.

Chennai Express

Have you ever expected to find your love of life in train? Some Bollywood movies will make you fall for this. Indian Cinema and Indian filmmakers have often used the train and rail journey plot to make a perfect romantic movie. Indian Railways always dedicates its great service to Bollywood, and the Chennai Express movie is an outstanding example.

Do you know what the best part of this movie is? It is the character of Rahul, played by the King of romance Shahrukh Khan and the brilliant actress Dipika Padukon. They both meet en route during the train journey. You can’t miss the beauty and flavour of Southern India perfectly directed by the action Director Rohit Shetty. The entire film is picturised at picturesque locations in the South, especially when the train passes through “Dudhsagar falls”. The film’s story also gives you a chance to plan a train journey to the South and witness these stunning locations from the train’s window.

Aradhana 

The movie was released in 1969 with the iconic star casts Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore. “Mere Sapno-ki-Rani Kab Aayegi Tu” is one of the best popular songs in the history of Bollywood. The film was shot in the lap of nature, capped with snow, in the summer capital of India, Shimla. The Darjeeling Himalayan toy train was picturised in this song. Rajesh Khanna was trying to impress Sharmila Tagore as her Sapno ki Rani and matched the speed of his jeep with a toy train. In this song, you can admire the old classic scenic beauty of Shimla. Darjeeling Himalayas comes under the category of UNESCO Heritage Site.

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge

The film was released when Yash Chopra was ruling the industry and was busy giving back romantic stories to the audience. The last scene of Dilwale Dulhaniya has become a historical scene in the Indian film Industry. The scene where Amresh Puri, father of Kajol in the movie, allows her to hold the hand of Sharukh Khan gives a romantic and emotional track to the movie. “Ja Simran Ja, Jee Le Apni Zindagi” dialogue is remarkable and used when someone is set free to live the life of his/her choice. It is basically about respecting the choice that someone makes. Kajol’s father was strict and against her love affair. But when he realised his daughter’s true love, he set her free to choose the one she loves. Director had never imagined that this last track of the movie would set a lifetime example.

Dil Se

Everyone has a dream to dance on the train top once in a lifetime, and the song is “Chaiiya Chaiiya”. Personally, I want to experience this adventure and enthusiasm. The song was Picturised for the movie “Dil Se”, where the glamour queen of the film industry Malaika Arora gave her remarkable debut with the Badshah of Bollywood Sharukh Khan. Trains have always played a crucial role when it is about to picture the romantic track of movies. You can see how beautifully the whistle of the train coordinates with the song, and the beautiful natural surrounding adds a flavour of freshness to the scenes. This popular film was directed by Mani Ratnam and released in 1998.

Parineeta

Parineeta is one of the favourites and various award-winning movies of Bollywood. The song Kasto Maja hai Railaiyama” is the best shot of this film. The song was picturised in Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, and some of the scenes are shot at Apta Railway Station. Train passes through the Himalayan scenic beauties, and the apple-cheeked children are happily enjoying the ride with Saif Ali khan. And, he sings the song during the ride and imagines her love, Parineeta, the role played by Vidya Balan.

Apart from these spectacular films, many more are picturised with the train journey stories. Railways have always supported Indian Cinema and became a hero of the show. The burning train movie is an example where a complete train journey story can be seen. The inside railway station and railway control room are seen where Vinod Khanna played the role of railway Station Master. In this film, Jitendra finds his love Nitu Kapoor during the journey.

Indian film Industry always practices making Bollywood movies on the train in different genres. Films like Sadma, Saathiya, and Saadhna are also a few hit Bollywood movies shot on train ride scenes and stories. Bollywood always comes up with railway romance scenes and sets a landmark at the box office if it is about to picture the movies based on train journey stories.

Why does Train Journey Story Attract the Filmmaker to Make Films?

Indian railways never miss a chance to entertain travellers in their unique way. The train journey has been considered the best journey ever for many years. They can create many story ideas on trains and make films on them. Trains are the best medium to shoot romantic journey scenes, and directors use that particular plot to hit the box office collection. The classic Bollywood movie Coolie was picturised at the Railway station and Amitabh Bachhan.

With technological advancement, now movies are shot with new action techniques. Indian Railways always play smart if it is about helping the passengers or assisting the Bollywood industry. In movies, you can notice various railway services that a passenger avails of daily.

You can scroll to the RailMitra app for more recent updates and get the railway-related updates within a few clicks. With this, you can check PNR Status, seat availability, and live train running status through this app and website. Also, you can order food in train of your choice from different locations.

Tell us about your train journey story; we would love to hear from you!