Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays Babu, a sharp shooter, in his forthcoming film Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, filmed a scene in Lucknow's red light area. It was a crucial action sequence for which director Kushan Nandy wanted an authentic location.

Initially, the crew found it difficult to identify a location for the shoot, even as the film, written by Kushan and Galib Asad Bhopali, was nearing completion. However, Kushan finally visited the red light area despite security threats and decided to shoot there since it had narrow, dingy lanes with steps leading down, the way he had visualised. Nawazuddin, being the perfectionist, also agreed to shoot.

The unit quickly procured the necessary permissions and the locals cooperated with the shoot. The filmmaker remembers, “The area was crowded with women and children. We requested them to be a part of the shoot, which made it look authentic. We hope the audience finds it real too.“

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, produced by Kiran Shyam Shroff and Ashmith Kunder , releases on August 25.