Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 12, 2018)

Two days after a couple of scenes from Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor’s much-anticipated debut Dhadak were leaked online, producer Karan Johar and director Shashank Khaitan have taken it upon themselves to keep their leads’ looks under wraps. Johar has apparently issued a strict no-phone policy on set to curb further leaks.

One of the leaked clips that went viral over the weekend saw Kapoor, dressed in a yellow salwar kameez, and Khatter in a yellow shirt and brown trousers, on a river bank. The other scene sees the female lead in a green saree.

A Dharma Productions insider tells us, “When the team found out about the leaked videos on Saturday night, it promptly reached out to Instagram Help Centre and managed to pull one of them down. But it was too late to block the other one, as it had been circulated widely by Janhvi and Ishaan’s fan clubs by then. The video was from the Jaipur schedule that took place a few months ago.”

Another source from the crew reveals that while unit members will have to hand over their phones before entering the set hereon, provisions are also being made to keep enthusiastic fans at bay for the ongoing Mumbai schedule. “Since the film is a remake of Sairat, the plot is already known. So, it is crucial for Shashank to guard the film’s look to keep the mystery around the movie alive. Since many scenes are being shot outdoors, the producers are working on procuring permissions to cordon off the area where they are shooting. After all, the videos in question were leaked by the fans who had queued up on set.”

Khaitan says, “It’s unfortunate that people leak footage. We can only do so much to protect our product, but with outdoor schedules, it is difficult for us. Everyone around has a camera phone. Kis kis ko roke? It would be nice if people were more supportive.”