A 141-year-old emerged as one of the busiest shooting spots for movies and web-series. The now non-functional Bhopal district jail served as Bhopal Central Jail till 1992. The British era jail was constructed in 1885 and first turned into a movie set in 2017, with the Ranbir Kapoor star, Sanju. The location soon emerged into a popular shooting spot, with the government making a profit of around 1.35 crores.

The jail witnessed major events over the years

The colonial-structure prison in Bhopal, once housed former President Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, Prof Barkatullah Bhopali, Prime Minister of India’s “government-in-exile” during the freedom struggle, and ex-Madhya Pradesh chief minister and current Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan during the Emergency. After turning into a most-known shooting spot, its barracks witnessed famous Bollywood stars such as Ranbir Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Bobby Deol, Jimmy Shergill and Huma Qureshi.

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At present, around half of the complex now houses the jail department’s headquarters, staff bungalows and quarters, alongside working for election-related purposes. The remaining part of the Bhopal jail now serves as the old, non-functional district jail. It is a high on demand for several filmmakers looking for authentic prison settings.

The 1885 Jail is now a high-on-demand movie set

It all started when Rajkumar Hirani directed the movie "Sanju", which was shot in the Bhopal prison cell. The British-era jail-turned-movie set started to gain momentum in 2021-22, earning the government Rs 1.35 crore. The Bhopal jail premises to shoot secnes for Arthur Road Jail, Ajmer High Security Jail and Shivpuri Jail.

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Nearly 25-30 films and web series have been shot there. The popular ones include Huma Qureshi's starer “Maharani”, Jimmy Shergill's starer projects, Ajay Devgn and Tabu's starer “Auro Mein Kahan Dum Thaa", Bobby Deol's starer "Ashram", and Ravi Kishan's starer “Psycho Saiyyan". Rajkumar Santoshi directed “Gandhi Godse – Ek Yudh”, “Jehanabad – Of Love & War”, Zahan Kapoor's debut Netflix series “Black Warrant” and “Raja Mantri Chor Sipahi”. In December, the jail is set to host crews shooting Maharani-5, SANKEE and Black Warrant-2, besides a web series starring Sharman Joshi, the New Indian Express reported. According to officials at the MP State Tourism Board, the old jail is a favoured location.