As Rohit Arya conducted ‘dry run’, parents thought it was for an audition

“All the parents were even tired after giving five to six retakes,” she added. Arya told them their “acting” would be recorded on CCTV cameras and that the scene was meant to simulate an emergency scenario.

Parents later said even on Thursday, when he actually took the children hostage, a ‘final retake’ was taken just two hours earlier. “Even the ‘final retake’ was taken two hours before the real horror unfolded due to which we initially did not believe the viral video of Arya, thinking it could be part of the act. He had planned all this like a movie script,” said one parent.

When the situation escalated into a real hostage crisis, many parents still assumed it was part of the shoot. “Even the wife of a late Marathi actor whose son was taken hostage did not agree till the police arrived at the spot,” said another parent.

Arya had reportedly told the parents he was shooting a kidnapping scene using chemicals and firecrackers. “Arya convinced us that he wanted to shoot a kidnapping scene. He had brought chemicals and firecrackers, saying they were for the scene… We did not know that he was going to actually kidnap children,” said a parent, adding that some children were even blindfolded to make the scene look real.

One person, identified as the director of the supposed web series and two Marathi actors participated in the “dry run” on Wednesday but did not turn up on Thursday. “The director was appreciative of our act, and when we did not perform properly, he used to motivate us for a retake,” a mother said.

Among those held hostage was a 75-year-old woman and her 10-year-old granddaughter. “Earlier, Arya used to ask me to sit near the reception area, but on Thursday he asked me to sit with the children where the audition was going on. He was talking very nicely with me, and I was eating sweet (laddoo), so he asked me if he could eat too, so I gave him,” she said.

“There were two rooms on the first floor, and he kept me in one room along with eight to nine children, while in another room he sat with seven to eight children. He locked the main door of the studio from inside and threatened that no one will go out unless his issue gets resolved,” she added.

She said Arya made all the children sit on the first floor after 12:30 pm and warned them that they were hostages who could only see their parents through the glass windows.

Rohan Aher, Arya’s long-time friend and project coordinator, was the first to sense trouble. He alerted the parents and later assisted police in gaining access to the premises, suffering a hand injury in the process. “He had spread some chemical (flammable material) on clothes kept on the floor in front of a few children. He had a lighter in his hand and threatened that he would burn the entire studio if anyone acted unless his demands were fulfilled,” said Aher.

Aher also said Arya had gained access to society CCTV feeds on his phone and had installed his own cameras inside the studio. “He had activated human sensor systems in all parts of the studio so that he could track every movement,” said Aher, adding that Arya had removed the original CCTV cameras and replaced them with five to six of his own, all connected to his mobile.

Parents said initial confusion delayed their reaction. “We were told the script was tailored around a hostage sequence and the children had to act out as if they had been held hostage. So when the incident happened, initially, we did not believe that this was an actual kidnapping. We could slightly see that the children were raising their hands. But we thought the children were acting and that Rohit sir wanted to capture the real emotions,” said a parent of a 14-year-old from Pune.

“When the police approached, we were not even sure if they were the real police. Finally, when the commandos arrived, we realised what had happened,” he said, adding, “We returned back to Pune on the same night. While our daughter is safe, she was in trauma. I tried asking my daughter today about the situation, but she refused to speak and remained silent.”

After making the hostage video in the ‘Ra studio’ at Powai on Thursday, Arya sent his casting director with the video to the Powai police station, informed them about the kidnapping of 20 people, including 17 children, a senior citizen woman, and Arya’s project manager Rohan Aher and his associate (a woman). The casting director met the senior inspector at 2:19 pm, showed him the entire video, and the police then swung into action and reached the spot in hardly 10 minutes.