Lamha team moves from Srinagar to Manali

Unable to shoot in Srinagar, producer Bunty Walia and director Rahul Dholakia have moved Lamhaa to Manali, reports Hiren Kotwani.

After Bipasha Basu’s abrupt return from Srinagar, officials in Jammu and Kashmir, along with the CRPF, met
Bunty Walia, the producer of Lamhaa, and assured him of a bigger support staff in an effort to convince him to continue shooting in the Valley.

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But on Sunday evening, the movie’s lead actor, Sanjay Dutt, too flew back to Mumbai. And now, we’re told, the shoot will shift to Manali.

First plan
Walia and director Rahul Dholakia had initially planned to complete about 40 per cent of the film in a three-week spell in Srinagar.

But they couldn’t even wrap up 10 per cent of the movie during their stay there due to the presence of huge, unruly crowds at every location.

“Although the makers had the full cooperation of the J & K police force and the CRPF, they were ill-equipped to deal with the mobs. And Bunty wasn’t willing to take any chances after the incidents of violence happening of late,” says a source from the unit.

Anupam Kher along with some of the other actors was supposed to fly to Srinagar on Saturday. But after Basu’s return, they were told to ‘hang on’. Now, after Dutt’s return, the likelihood of any more shooting happening in Srinagar seems remote.

In Mumbai
According to our source, Dholakia‘s shooting will resume in Manali in a day or two. A considerable portion of Lamhaa however will be filmed in Film City where art director Wasiq Khan is creating a huge set reported to cost a couple of crores.

Bunty Walia and Rahul Dholakia were both unavailable for comment.