As has widely been reported Bond 23 is set to film on location in India, with Mumbai and Delhi chosen to host the action.
However, the film makers have been forced to rewrite a stunt that would involve 007 leaping from a motorbike onto the crowded roof of a train carriage and then to another carriage as the government says fears the sequence would portray India in a poor light. AFP reports:
“Rooftop travel is illegal in India and it cannot be encouraged,” Indian Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi told AFP on Saturday. Many Indians seek to avoid paying for tickets by travelling on the roof.
Daniel Craig, who plays the world’s most famous secret agent, was supposed to jump from a motorcycle onto a moving train roof packed with travellers and then leap to another equally crowded train top, according to the script.
Trivedi said 007 could perform the stunt — but only if there is nobody on the top of the trains.
“Rooftop travel will not be shown,” he said, adding that the government has also stipulated the filming “has to be safe and passengers should not be inconvenienced.”
The railways minister said that the original movie script could have led to an impression that rooftop travel was common in India.
