Kanpur shoot turns nightmare for stars

The director faces a PIL for ‘‘causing inconvenience to localites’’ and a threat to be dragged to court over ‘‘sensitive’’ scenes involving purohits. An angry Ali even shunted out the media — threatening to snatch cameras — as the shoot venues turned into virtual police cantonments to keep the public out. As the unit packed off for Dehra Dun today, the 1000-strong police force requisitioned from six districts of UP for the crew’s security was, perhaps, the most relieved.

Flashback: Last Sunday, when the crew checked into Hotel Landmark here, Shiv Sainiks disrupted shooting, objecting to Rani Mukherji entering the Sri Swaminath Akhara. Amitabh Bachchan and Raj Babbar wrapped up their schedules quickly under heavy security and returned to Mumbai.

‘‘It’s after almost a decade that a shooting has been held in Kanpur. The craze among the public was phenomenal,’’ a hotel official said. Outside, people were queueing up since 4 am to catch a glimpse of the Khandala girl and Big B’s son. The admiration ends there. At Bithoor, on the banks of Ganga, as the lead pair plays sadhu-cheli, duping devotees, priests are fuming. ‘‘We will go to court if these scenes are not deleted,’’ a priest said.

Before shooting begins at the Thagu ke Ladoo shop, public block all roads, leading to a lathicharge. More than a dozen people are injured. A thief is caught as he makes his way to pick Abhishek’s pocket. Beaming, the culprit announces he is always after high-profile targets. Then, there is the debacle at Kanpur station. Ali paid the railway authorities Rs 21,000 for using the premises but at the end of the day, the former is at a loss as all ways are blocked and trains delayed. An NGO files a PIL against Ali for inconvenience caused to commuters. The finale: a roof collapses with a dozen avid watchers and the crowd pelts stones at the actors.