Pralay row: Hansal Mehta calls Mumbai an unfriendly shoot city

Hansal Mehta has pushed back after the Mumbai Cricket Association objected to a six-hour shoot for Ranveer Singh’s upcoming zombie thriller Pralay at Azad Maidan. The filmmaker, who is producing the film, says the unit had every clearance it needed before cameras rolled.

Why the shoot became a flashpoint

The MCA questioned why a ground used by young cricketers was handed over for a commercial film shoot. It said the Azad Maidan shoot forced inter-school cricket matches to be postponed, which turned a routine production day into a public argument.

Mehta’s response is simple: the paperwork was in place. “Our shoot at Azad Maidan was fully permitted,” he said in an interview with Hindustan Times. The team, he said, held permission letters from police departments and sports departments, and even an acknowledgement from the MCA itself.

A larger problem for Mumbai

Mehta then widened the argument beyond one ground. Mumbai is the home of Indian cinema, he said, but it has also become “a most unfriendly city to shoot in.” A single location can need clearances from several departments, each with its own process and delays.

His worry is that even a fully permitted crew is treated with suspicion. Other states, he said, understand that a film shoot brings jobs, business and visibility. In Mumbai, filmmakers often meet obstruction instead.

What this means for Pralay

The film is a post-apocalyptic zombie thriller starring Ranveer Singh and Kalyani Priyadarshan. It is directed by Jai Mehta in his feature debut, with Hansal Mehta and Ranveer’s production houses backing the project. Shooting has begun in Mumbai, and a large part is planned in Australia. The reported budget is Rs 300 crore.

The stakes are practical. If Mumbai becomes too difficult, productions can move. Mehta says he has worked in the city for more than three decades and wants to keep telling its stories there. But he added that filmmakers will go where they are allowed to work.

What production teams can do

This row is a reminder that shoot-day approvals are only one part of the job. Here is what the Pralay team appears to have done correctly:

• Get written permission letters from every concerned department, including police and sports authorities.
• Obtain an acknowledgement from bodies such as the MCA, not just the primary owner of the location.
• Keep the paperwork on set so any on-ground objection can be answered immediately.

The city, Mehta argues, must also change: if Mumbai wants to remain the centre of Hindi cinema, it cannot treat lawful shoots as a nuisance. For fans, the immediate question is whether Pralay can continue its Mumbai schedule smoothly before it heads to Australia.

Source: The Times of India