Anti-Pakistan and anti-Osama bin Laden slogans, a Hollywood film crew running for cover, police reinforcements rushing on this... isn't exactly what Oscar-winning Hollywood director Kathryn Bigelow had in mind while shooting for her film "Zero Dark Thirty" in keeping with how the Al Qaeda chief was killed in his Abbottabad hideout.
Bigelow has re-created Abbottabad town in Chandigarh's suburbs.
While murmurs of protest against the shooting of the film in Chandigarh's suburb of Mani Majra had started Thursday, Friday saw full-fledged protests by right-wing activists and traders, forcing the Hollywood crew to run for defense with their cameras and kit as their Indian production unit members tried to save lots of the placement from getting worse.
Bigelow, who was at the sets canning her shots, was however not present when the difficulty took place.
Hired bouncers might be seen looking to shield the film crew. Locals complained of rude behaviour by the bouncers.
Protestors, claiming to be from the Shiv Sena and other right-wing organizations, shouted anti-Pakistan and anti-Osama slogans on the venue of the film shooting in a commercial area of Mani Majra. They were objecting to the film unit openly using Pakistani flags, Urdu signboards and other things to depict a Pakistani town environment.
Sensing trouble, the Chandigarh police rushed reinforcements, including a snappy reaction team (QRT), to manage things. Members of the film unit and the protesters, including the realm traders association (Beopar Mandal) were taken to the world police station to succeed in a "compromise".
Police sources said the film production unit agreed to pay Rs.700,000 to the traders body as compensation for the lack of trade and other damage.
Traders within the area, a few of whom had earlier willingly agreed to permit the film unit to modify the signboards outside the malls to indicate a Pakistani town, were Friday seen complaining that their business was affected as a result of shooting that have been occurring for the last two days. They were also upset that the shooting had resulted in traffic blockade within the area.
"The film unit have been compelling us to transport consistent with their wish. That is just not acceptable," an upset shopkeeper Ajay Gupta told IANS.
Market welfare association vice president Subhash Saria told IANS: "We were only aware that the shooting will happen for in the future. However, that is the second one day and these people have blocked our roads. They even stopped me today from entering the market. The bouncers are actually harassing us."
Being the beginning of a brand new month, traders within the area say that their business is suffering from the film shooting.
Locals said the bouncers created a fuss when people tried to take pictures of the shooting in progress. "ONE OF THE CRUCIAL people fascinated by the argument was an area journalist, Sushil Jain," one bystander said.
"I was just capturing of the traffic blockade, and the bouncers thought I'M looking to capture the director of the movie Kathryn Bigelow. How can they stop people from doing whatever they're of their own shops?" he said.
"A bouncer started pushing and shooing us away after we protested against the traffic blockade. It's been two days since we had a customer within the shop," Saria said.
Association president Naresh Kumar Panna said: "The consent of ward presidents of the market was taken for the shooting. Nevertheless, we were unaware that it'll cost us such a lot trouble. We have now been bluffed into allowing them."
Defending the film unit, Mani Majra Station House Officer (SHO) Rajesh Shukla told IANS: "When the federal government of India and Chandigarh administration has given the crew permission to shoot, how are we able to stop them? The market welfare association was well conscious about the shooting and when the shoot is on, the crew will make the arrangements in step with their requirements."
Following the protests, the shooting of the film stopped for a while and the venue was changed for that duration.
Bigelow, who hit a high in 2010 by becoming the primary woman director to win the Academy Award for her film "The Hurt Locker", depicting war-ravaged Iraq, has chosen locations in north India to shoot her movie at the elimination of bin Laden.
Bin Laden was hunted down by elite US Navy Seals in a midnight operation within the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad in May last year.
