Vishal Bhardwaj's Rangoon shoot comes to an abrupt halt for two days
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 15, 2016)


On Thursday, the shoot of Rangoon, Vishal Bhardwaj's ambitious Casablanca-like love story set against the Second World War, came to an abrupt halt after a Japanese actor and Shahid Kapoor were injured during a fight sequence on a set of a bombed-out village. Besides these two actors, Vishal was shooting with Kangana Ranaut and a huge convoy of Japanese soldiers.

"The Japanese actor was hurt in the chest and rushed to the hospital. X-rays revealed a slight inflammation and he has been advised rest. But he's an energetic fighter and will be up and running soon," Vishal informed Mirror.

Shahid who plays an Indian army officer, hurt his finger and developed a fever from being drenched in rain for over six hours. "We were hoping he'd be back today but I've just got a call from his doctor informing me that his temperature is still high and he won't be able to resume work," the filmmaker sighed.

Earlier a noted British actor, Richard McCabe, who bagged the Tony this year for his play, The Audience, shot for Rangoon for around 10 days before returning to London. "He has been diagnosed with pneumonia but is recovering and will be back soon," he added.

The silver lining is that the sequence has turned out really well. "Everything we've shot so far is something you've never seen on screen before. The scale is huge, far bigger than I imagined.

At least two-three films on World War 2 come out of the West every year but this is the first time we will learn about India's involvement in the war. So many soldiers were killed, there are so many graves in Burma," pointed out Vishal who has applied for permission to be allowed to shoot in Burma.

But before that, in mid-February he will be going to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, excited to be allowed to film in places on the border that are not even open to the tourists. "I hope the recent hitch will not hit this schedule for a six. This delay is already costing us plenty," he signs off anxiously.