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Upala KBR (DNA; March 31, 2016)

Anurag Basu’s long-suffering Jagga Jasoos starring now-estranged couple Ranbir and Katrina Kaif, is slowly trudging towards the finish line. Anyway, the film has been delayed and the untimely split of the lead couple has made matters worse on the sets. Director Ayan Mukerji, a friend of both Ranbir and Katrina, has been dropping by, to keep the atmosphere on the sets breezy. And while he is there, he has offered some solutions to the film’s director Anurag Basu, which haven’t gone down well with producer Siddharth Roy Kapur.

Last week, another incident on the sets of the film in Mumbai saw the producer of the film come visiting. Says an eyewitness, “Ayan, Ranbir-Katrina’s common friend, was asked by Anurag Basu (before the recent schedule of Jagga started) to come and make sure that the shooting happened smoothly. Both actors don’t talk to each other post their break-up and the atmosphere is so strained that everyone tiptoes around them. People on the sets feel that tension can erupt anytime with either Katrina or Ranbir staging a walkout, leaving the shooting in disarray. Ayan had been frequenting the sets to ensure that the lead pair could communicate through him in the work zone. He would be present on the days when both lead actors were present. In fact, it was his recommendation that they should shoot the Morocco portions in Mumbai on a set of the city as the shooting away from home would be more stressful. It was a practical suggestion.”

The source reveals that Basu liked Ayan’s suggestion and the Morocco sets were built in Mumbai and shooting began. Producer Siddharth happened to see some of the rushes of the Moroccan shoot and was not happy, “Last Saturday, Ranbir and Ayan were not present on the set. Katrina was filming some portions with some other character artists when a furious Siddharth landed up on the sets and made his displeasure known. He let Basu know that he was disappointed with the rushes and he blamed Ayan for this. He told Anurag that he no longer wanted the Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani director visiting the sets or giving any suggestions. Shooting was held up for a bit so that day’s shooting got cancelled and Katrina had to shoot on Sunday too, a day which she was to give to Baar Baar Dekho for a song. Before leaving, Siddharth made it clear that the cast and crew has to go to Morocco on April 15 and shoot there.”