Vishal Bhardwaj & Shahid Kapoor stall ‘Kaminay’ shoot

The terrorist attack in Mumbai was a heart-stirring event for the nation and its fatal effects have been felt in every field, including the film industry. Vishal Bharadwaj’s ‘Kaminay’ shoot had to be cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday night because of the serial blasts. The director says, “We were shooting a traffic jam scene for Kaminey at Horniman Circle, which is a couple of minutes away from Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST).
We crossed CST at 9.45 pm and headed for the circle. While the men were putting up the lights, we heard firing and explosions close by. We decided to cancel the shoot immediately around 10.30 pm and head home.”
Vishal also reported that the lead actor of the film, Shahid Kapoor, had reached the shoot by then. “Shahid left a little ahead of me. It was a war-like situation on the streets of Mumbai. As we reached Marine Drive there were lots of police vehicles with guns pointed at us. It was terrifying!” As Vishal and Shahid crossed Marine Drive and Girgaum Chowpatty they heard firing behind them. Vishal says, “I could feel something was going to happen at Marine Drive. Later, when I reached home, I heard a couple of terrorists got killed at Girgaum. Again we got saved…”
Vishal reached home around 2 am. “There were policemen with guns everywhere. It was scary! I have seen check- posts but not police aiming guns at all the cars. We have shot such scenes in films but watching it live is something else altogether. At one check naka, they stopped my car and started asking all sorts of questions.
I had to take out my ID card and one of the police officers recognised me and let me go,” Vishal shudders with relief. “We had a unit of almost 300 people and 50 cars as it was a traffic jam sequence with lots of cars and everyone was packed off home. Fortunately, each and every unit member reached home safely. My wife Rekha was to join us on the shoot but had to cancel her plans. We are all lucky that we got saved,” he recalls grimly.