TRAVELLERS ECHO ‘LET’S NACHO’ AS DMRC GOES ‘NA RE NA RE’!
‘Can’t stop, won’t stop’ seems to be the mantra of some commuters despite curbs on filming reels in the Metro
The craze of creating reels on board the Delhi Metro doesn’t seem to be fading away anytime soon. Repeated announcements and efforts have been made by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) urging commuters to avoid filmography inside the coaches, but to no avail. A case in point is the recent clip of a young girl recording her peer dancing in a crowded coach. The same was tweeted by Major DP Singh, India’s first blade runner, with the caption: “Ye kya hai?” The tweet received mixed responses on social media. While some users enjoyed it, others termed it “atrocious behaviour”.
“Organised shooting inside the metro is prohibited. Prior permission needs to be taken, even for film shoots. Even if we grant permission, some amount is charged as a token of apology for the inconvenience caused to commuters,” informs Anuj Dayal, principal executive director, DMRC. He adds, “Even if spontaneous, there are messages, hoardings and announcements discouraging such behaviour. The videos that go viral on social media might be fun to watch, but the faces of other passengers reveal their discomfort at being included. That should not happen.”
Comfort of fellow passengers is, indeed, a concern. “I know they are just having fun, but why at the cost of other travellers? Ghar pe banao na reels,” asserts Konishjit Singh Bedi, a Ghaziabad-based engineer who has come across commuters making reels near food joints at Hauz Khas Metro Station. “You can’t stop people from making a video in public spaces, but the coach is already so crowded. Their recording makes it so difficult to go from point A to point B without feeling like your privacy is being violated,” says Bedi.
“I always seek permission from passengers before recording and posting reels that feature them,” reasons Mritunjay Kumar, who runs the Instagram pages @delhi.metrolife and @mydelhimetrolife. The 28-year-old digital marketer, who travels from Greater Noida to Gurugram for work, admits there is a section of social media users that thrives on such videos. “My videos get thousands of views, one of them has 1.64 lakh likes! I get so many DMs and comments from people who share that they love the content I curate. So it can’t be all bad or wrong!”
A digital content creator who runs the Instagram page @delhimetrotravellers reveals on the condition of anonymity that several Insta users approach to get featured on the page: “I curate a lot of content sent by commuters. I am aware that making videos inside the train is against the rules, but I only film content after checking with those around me. I will continue making reels because I am not causing any disturbance to anyone.”