Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta has dropped his plans to construct a movie studio near Mumbai. Instead, he feels Gujarat has better prospects for locations to make use of in future.
“I bought land in Karjat and that i was going ahead full-steam with plans. But now I’ve decided against it. Gujarat is where where Bollywood will eventually be shooting. They’re welcoming us with both arms,” said Gupta, whose Mumbai underworld-based film “Shootout At Wadala”, is embroiled in a chain of problems referring to outdoor shootings.
The decisive moment happened last week when Gupta together with his cast and crew was shooting on the Dhobi Ghat.
“As it is, we had a troublesome time getting permission to shoot in Dhobi Ghat… To shoot in any outdoor location of Mumbai, we’ve to get permission from five different government bodies. Or even then, we’re allowed to shoot only on Sundays in so-called sensitive areas.”
“Why Sundays? When all of Mumbai is out at the roads relaxing and lounging around Mumbai. Anyway to make matters worse, we're not allowed to take aerial shots of Mumbai from helicopters. With the intention to shoot Anil Kapoor at Dhobi Ghat from the top, I needed to employ a 200-feet crane.
“My cameraperson needed to clamber up awkwardly and dangerously to get that shot from the top,” he added.
Gupta thinks it's all unnecessarily prohibitive and ultimately self-defeating.
“The Mumbai authorities feel this is a security threat for us filmmakers to shoot the town from helicopters. I NEED to invite them how can they control the outflow of topographical visuals on this era of Google.”
As far as shooting in Mumbai is concerned, Gupta feels town goes the la (LA) way.
“It becomes a meeting struggle for Hollywood’s filmmakers to shoot in LA. A time came after they stopped completely. And Vancouver in Canada become an alternative choice to LA,” he said. – IANS
