Bhopal, May 9: Civic authorities in Bhopal bulldozed the sets of Prakash Jha's new film Aarakshan, since it was erected on a disputed land, says a media report.
This incident has upset the film's schedule, as they were supposed to shoot a few scenes with Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan.
Prakash Jha Productions had taken the land on lease from the Minal Residency Group, not realising that it was a disputed property.
An enraged Jha said, "We had no idea that the land where we had constructed our set was disputed. But, I do feel that even though the demolition had to go through, the authorities knew we had constructed only temporary structures for the purpose of shooting.
"So why demolish it? It would have been dismantled within a month. Everyone in Bhopal knew it was a set".
"The demolition has definitely upset our plans. We had left the set standing because there were a couple of scenes with Saif and Deepika, remained to be shot. Now we have to work out alternative arrangements," he further added.
The demolished set spread over an acre and a half of land, included a bungalow that belongs to the character played by Amitabh Bachchan in the film, as well as parts of a stable where informal schools were set up.
The demolition was ordered by the district magistrate's office.
"It was an illegal structure, so it was demolished. The high court had directed us to demolish the structure. We did what we were supposed to. The construction on that area was not legal," said Rajnish Shrivastava, Additional District Magistrate of Bhopal.
