Alarmed by a spate of accidents and “anti-social activities” in the recent past on the under-construction Worli-Bandra Sea-link, the police have decided not to allow shooting of films or serials on the “dangerous” stretch, at least for the time being.
The finished part of the sealink, which is about 400 metres long, is in high demand for shooting action sequences in Hindi films, especially car chases and racing stunts. Industry sources claimed that a particular director even had plans to shoot a scene akin to the terrorist chase on a bridge in the Hollywood film True Lies.
Senior Inspector Laxman Bhure of the Bandra police station said on Tuesday that the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) authorities had recently taken a decision to block the Sealink by putting up large boulders at the access point.
This was in view of the fact that unrestricted access to the unprotected road had resulted in a series of accidents, mostly involving the infamous “biker gangs”.
Only last month, two bikers were killed after losing control. Also, an incident of molestation had been reported last month. “From the security point of view, it is not prudent to allow shooting of films on that stretch,” Bhure said.
{{/usCountry}}Only last month, two bikers were killed after losing control. Also, an incident of molestation had been reported last month. “From the security point of view, it is not prudent to allow shooting of films on that stretch,” Bhure said.
{{/usCountry}}The MSRDC maintained that the decision to deny permission to the road for film shooting “might have been taken by the police”.
MSRDC Managing Director R. Jha said on Tuesday that permission for film shooting was given on the stretch against the payment of a fee. “In fact, recently we were contemplating a hike in the fee. But after deliberations, we decided not to impose any increase,” Jha said.
Jha added that though the MSRDC had no objection to the use of the Sealink for film shooting but “if for safety reasons the police wants it otherwise, we have no objections.”
Prior to this, the police had decided not to allow film shooting in the swanky Bandra-Kurla Complex area.
The decision came after several corporate houses headquartered in the ultra-modern complex objected to the use of their buildings by the filmmakers to shoot dubious sequences.
Also, the presence of the shooting film crew, their equipment and vehicles would cause inconvenience to their staff members.
Email Debasish Panigrahi: debasish.panigrahi@hindustantimes.com