The Vande Bharat Express is set for its first cinematic appearance, after Western Railway (WR) approved its use for a commercial production. Filming took place on Platform 5 at Mumbai Central Station on Wednesday, marking a milestone for the semi-high-speed train on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route. In line with it, award-winning filmmaker Shoojit Sircar became the first Bollywood director to use Vande Bharat Express for a film shoot.

WR authorities utilised one of the two trains on the route, which remains off-duty every Wednesday for maintenance, allowing the filming without disrupting passenger services. "The non-plying train was permitted for the shoot in line with policy guidelines,” stated a WR official, adding that the shoot generated ₹23 lakh in non-fare revenue, surpassing the ₹20 lakh earned during the train’s usual operations.

Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek highlighted that revenue from such shoots is used to upgrade railway amenities.