[Reader-list] 'Lamhaa' unit to leave Kashmir as mob stalls Bipasha's shoot

[Aditya Raj Kaul]

'Lamhaa' unit to leave Kashmir as mob stalls Bipasha's shoot


Sat, Nov 8 04:48 PM

Mumbai, Nov 8 (IANS) Bollywood producer Bunty Walia, who had hoped to shoot
his film 'Lamhaa' in the Kashmir valley, has decided to pull out his crew
from the region after a mob disrupted the shooting of a scene involving
Bipasha Basu.

On Wednesday, a mob surrounded the unit filming a scene with Bipasha, who
plays the role of a Kashmiri girl. They wanted the film's shooting to be
stopped.

'It wasn't a pleasant experience for Bipasha to suddenly see a mob of locals
descending on the unit,' Walia told IANS on phone from Srinagar.

'We were shooting on the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) compound, which
was supposed to pass off as a street in Kashmir because there are a lot of
Kashmiri Pundit houses in the compound.

'One sequence had a band of Kashmiri women led by Bipasha moving towards one
of the houses in a van. When the local Kashmiri men saw so many women in
burqas, they wanted to know what was happening. They got increasingly
agitated,' he said.

'We realised that when it comes to mobs nothing works...not the police, not
the CRPF. We decided we had no choice but to quickly pack up for the day for
the sake of the unit's security,' Walia added.

Last week, Kashmiri fruit traders had intervened to stop the shooting of the
film at the fruit market as they feared the movie might portray them in a
bad light.

On Monday, students of a college in south Kashmir's Anantnag district took
exception to some of the portions being shot inside the campus premises and
the principal then asked the film crew to withdraw.

'I realised quite early in our schedule that shooting the entire film in
Kashmir would be impossible. The minute the locals saw a 150-strong unit in
Srinagar they got suspicious and excited. There have been recent film units
in Kashmir but none in Srinagar before 'Lamhaa'.

'They are apprehensive about the guns. But the gun culture has been a part
of Kashmir for years. I was not showing anything unreal. This is the real
Kashmir. But unfortunately their reality in a film is not acceptable to the
locals,' Walia said.

After Wednesday's disruption, director Rahul Dholakia called a press
conference in Srinagar to explain that 'Lamhaa' wasn't projecting the
Kashmir valley incorrectly.

'Rahul was very upset about the disruption. He asked the locals not to
become a mob,' Walia said.

'Why did the Jammu and Kashmir government promise us all cooperation and
protection? I'm anxious and irritated. I'm losing a lot of money because of
the disruptions. I can't shoot beyond Nov 21. I don't have my stars' dates
beyond that. The light starts fading at 4.30 p.m. I'm working against all
odds. We feel pushed against the wall,' he added.

Now almost 80 percent of 'Lamhaa' will be shot in Film City in Mumbai.

'We've rescheduled. We'll shoot vital scenes with our stars as fast as
possible and quickly move out of Kashmir. My entire film was to be shot in
Kashmir for 60 days. Now we can only shoot in Kashmir for 20 days. The rest
of the film will be shot on a set erected at Film City (Mumbai),' Walia
said.

The set for 'Lamhaa' will be constructed by Wasiq Khan.

'He's done other Kashmiri films like 'Tahaan' and 'Yahaan'. We're shopping
for Kashmiri artefacts and furniture right now. We hope to create an
authentic Kashmir in Mumbai,' Walia said.

'The administration in Kashmir was cooperative. The local people were
hostile. They misinterpret anything we shoot. I'm not going to explain every
shot and action to the mobs. Sadly I've to announce that the dream of
Kashmir being a paradise for film units remains just a dream.'