Farah Khan to hold Tees Maar Khan music launch on a train that will ply between Mumbai and Lonavla

Farah Khan is having the music release of her film Tees Maar Khan this Sunday, November 14, on a train from Mumbai to Lonavla. She has booked an entire train for the purpose.

Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, and the rest of the cast and crew along with media persons will travel on the train, which will take off from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and will stop only once it reaches its final destination.

No boring speeches

The Om Shanti Om director hit upon this idea as the story of the film revolves around a heist and the entire climax is set on a fast running train.

However she has to wait to get permission from the railway. The interiors and exteriors of the train will bear posters of the film.

Farah says, "I didn't want a regular music launch where hotel is booked and stage is put up with some boring speeches. I wanted to do something unusual. For Main Hoon Naa, we'd turned the room into a classroom.

Tees Maar Khan is about a train heist and what better than Tees Maar Khan (Akshay Kumar) taking the media for a ride on the train. It was expensive but worth it.

We have booked a whole train which will run from a leading Mumbai station to Lonavla for two hours and 15 minutes. In our movie too, the train is a non-stop one.

For our music release there will be live fun entertainment." Once the troupe reaches Lonavla, they will all head for lunch at the Dukes Hotel and then return to Mumbai by the same train.

Khan remembers the last time she was on a train, "It was almost 10 years ago when I choreographed Chaiyan Chaiyan ¦ I love trains and am looking forward to this journey. I wish I could take my kids too on the ride."

Akshay bola

"I am really looking forward to the train journey to Khandala. I will be taking on a train journey after a long time - more than 20 years. Now I am on trains mostly during my film shootings.

The last time I travelled in a local train was from Andheri to King's Circle in Matunga. I would take a western railway train from Andheri to Bandra and then take a Harbour Line from Bandra to King's Circle as all my friends used to live there.

For longer distances, I would travel with my parents and sister by Frontier Mail from Mumbai to Delhi. I have some great memories of those trips... In those days it used to be a big thing for us."

How to build a train

For their first ever production Tees Maar Khan, Farah Khan and Shirish Kunder spent Rs 75 lakh to build a train and a 500 metres long track.

They did this instead of simply hiring a train in order to avoid breaks and have the entire set available to the team for days at a stretch.

Art director Sabu Cyril gets the credit for making the train look authentic. Since the shooting took place in Malshej Ghat, an entire train along with tracks was transported there.

There was also the added cost of the yard where the train was stationed when not being used during shooting.

The train wasn't driven by a professional engine driver but a truck driver! However there is no Chaiyya Chaiyya on the roof on this one.