Khula Shutter, Nikla Shahid

Crowds on the busy streets of Mumbai Central were in for a pleasant surpriserecently when they realised that actor Shahid Kapoor was shooting in the bylanes there. But while the shoot promised thrilling moments for Shahid’s fans, the idea of shooting at a real location, and that too a crowded one, had kept the cast and crew on edge for several days.

A source reveals that the filmmakers were keen to shoot their film Phata Poster Nikla Hero at real locations around the city to keep the real flavour on reel. Just last week, Shahid had to shoot an intense scene in a crowded market area. And insiders reveal that shooting in the crowded bylanes of the place put forth several challenges.

“Even though the film makers managed to get permission from the authorities, the crowd was extremely difficult to handle and execution was becoming a hassle. Apart from keeping the crowds at bay, we realized that the lanes were too narrow to park Shahid’s vanity van,” reveals a member from the production unit of the Rajkumar Santoshi film.

“We were skeptical about it, but when we told Shahid about it, he was very sporting and simply asked us to make whatever temporary arrangements we could on the location. So, a local Udipi restaurant was finalized to double up as Shahid’s changing room and he offered to travel to the location nearby on a bike. Instead of throwing tantrums on the non-availability of a van, Shahid simply had the eating joint’s shutters pulled down while he changed,” says the source. Meanwhile, the crowds, who knew that some shooting was to commence, had no idea who was at the location.

“But the moment the restaurant’s shutters opened, and they saw Shahid step out, the crowds simply multiplied and soon the entire area was buzzing with excitement. We were worried because Shahid’s scene was an intense,emotionally charged one and with the distractions around, we were prepared to shoot for at least eight to ten hours,” adds the insider.

But Shahid surprised them when despite the commotion around, he managed to deliver all his scenes in a single take. “Santoshi is a stickler for perfection, and Shahid himself is very critical about his work. The shot was a long one and needed a degree of expertise to deliver the perfect emotion. But he gave a perfect shot in one take. And he kept doing that with every shot, so what was actually to take eight hours, was wrapped up in two hours’ time. The crew was amazed at his focus and preparation and unanimously stood up to give him a standing ovation. In fact, he even got an ovation from the crowds, who had actually quietened down as they were engrossed in watching Shahid perform,” says the crew member.

(via DNA)