Isaaq makers face monumental hurdle

Back in 2011, he had his first encounter with the Taj Mahal when Ekk Deewana Tha’s music was launched against the backdrop of Shah Jahan’s monument of love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Back in 2011, he had his first encounter with the Taj Mahal when Ekk Deewana Tha’s music was launched against the backdrop of Shah Jahan’s monument of love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Now, as Prateik’s next, Issaq, readies for release, the makers wanted to go a step further and host a special screening of the romantic film at the mausoleum, since it is an adaptation of another epic love story, Romeo And Juliet. But at the last minute, they decided against it.

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“We were keen to host a special screening at the Taj Mahal but later, we were advised against it because it’s a popular tourist spot. It would have been a security, as well as a logistical, issue. First of all, you can’t close a public place for any event. And even if we had managed that, it would have been hard to control the tourists,” says an insider from the film’s unit. “So we decided not to go ahead with it.”

When contacted, director Manish Tiwary confirms this development, saying, “Since it’s a heritage site, controlling the crowd would have been an issue. Hosting such an event is a mind-boggling thought. So later on, we all thought about playing it safe.”

And even though the screening won’t take place at the Taj Mahal, the whole team, including Prateik and actor Amyra Dastur, will visit the site and a screening of the film will be held at a multiplex close to the historical structure. “Since Issaq has romance written all over it, it made sense to do something at the Taj, which is the epitome of love. Everything fell in place and we got this opportunity,” says Prateik.