Rohan Sippy’s film set vandalized

There's a tongue in cheek statement in Bollywood, which says that 'Bollywood and politics go hand in hand'. There have been many instances wherein politicians tried to mingle in the making of the film, for one reason or the other.

But what happened on the sets of the Rohan Sippy directed Nautanki Saala on Sunday afternoon is something that really takes the cake. Here's what happened. This incident took place around 1.45pm-2pm when, the chauffeur of Pravin Darekar (one of the senior members of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena [MNS]), on being stopped outside the sets of the film, not just disrupted the shoot in Green Namkeen Mills, Kandivali, but also vandalized property worth over Rs. 20 lakh. As soon as the disruption began, Rohan and his father Ramesh Sippy, informed the police.

Talking about this incident, Sunil Paraskar, Additional CP (North Region) said that one of the accused is the driver of MNS member Pravin Darekar. He explained that, the said driver wanted to use the road that passes through the Khatau Mills Compound, and when some of the security personnel tried to stop him, he started arguing with them. And when they did not allow him to use the road, he returned with around 15 men who damaged 14 vehicles parked at the spot, most of which belonged to Rohan's film unit.

Recalling the fateful incident, a visibly shocked Manjeet Singh (Production Manager of the film) said that suddenly, some people broke into their sets and attacked the unit's cars. They damaged the vanity vans and generators too. He also added that Ayushmann's car has been smashed so badly, it will need repairs of at least Rs. 15 lakh. As a result of all this, the shooting in Green Namkeen Mills was stopped for a full two-and-half hours.

Meanwhile, Ameya Khopkar (President- Cine Wing of MNS) said that one cannot attribute this rampage to MNS. He also added that he is aware of what has happened and that it had nothing to do directly with the party. Lastly, he said that they never have ever hesitated to own up to incidents where they have had serious issues.