Mumbai university welcomes Ferrari Ki Sawari

Mumbai University opens gates to Vidhu Vinod Chopra again for the kind of cinema he promotes.

The first shot of Ferrari Ki Sawari — a choir scene featuring Sharman Joshi and a bunch of school children — was filmed on the grounds of the Mumbai University, a heritage structure. "It was the first day of shooting and we had a difficult shot on a round trolley. My lead child actor (whose identity is being kept under wraps), along with other kids, was facing the camera for the first time. To my surprise, it was a one-shot okay," smiles writer-producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra. This is the second time Chopra has got permission to shoot on the university grounds after 1942—A Love Story (1994).

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Vidhu

Dr John Wilson founded the University of Bombay (the name was changed to the University of Mumbai in 1996) in 1857. Inspired by the universities of Britain, the architecture is in Gothic style, with the Rajabai Clock Tower, one of Mumbai’s landmarks, modelled on London’s Big Ben.



"It was heartwarming to learn that when my production team approached the authorities for permission, they were told that this company is always welcome because of the kind of cinema it promotes," says Chopra.



He also recalls how a friend had approached a scalper outside a theatre showing Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). The ticket was priced at Rs 250, and the friend was expecting to pay double, but was told by the scalper that he couldn’t make a profit on a film that preached an anti-corruption message. Says Chopra, "Our films promote cinema we believe in rather than makes movies that bring in the mega bucks. I guess that’s what has inspired the university’s trust. For me, it’s a high having a heritage structure in my film."