Horses being used for Arjun Kapoor's Panipat shoot at Chitrakoot Ground are ridden on busy roads on the way to their stables in Goregaon every evening during rush hour, bringing traffic to a standstill
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; May 9, 2019)

As if the bumper-to-bumper traffic of Andheri West wasn't bad enough, it appears that filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker has added to the commuters' woes. The director has been filming his ambitious war drama, Panipat, at the Chitrakoot Ground in Andheri over the past week.

The team has been shooting for action sequences using a bunch of horses. mid-day has learnt that the horses make their way out of Chitrakoot Ground every evening, as they are taken back to their stables in Goregaon East, leading to a traffic snarl in the process.

Talking to mid-day, an irate resident, who lives in a building close to the shooting site, complained, "It feels as if the Battle of Panipat is happening in our area. Veera Desai road is heavily congested in the evenings, to begin with, and the horses bring the traffic almost to a standstill."

A little bit of digging revealed that the fleet is taken through the back road of the grounds, which then connects to the Western Express Highway. While most big-budget dramas tend to transport animals by trucks, the makers of the Arjun Kapoor starrer seem to be taking the easy route out.

Horses hired for the shooting of the film Panipat cause a traffic jam after work ends for the day and they are taken back from Chitrakoot Ground to the stables in Goregaon East.

When mid-day questioned Pappu Varma, who has provided horses for the film, he said, "I will need to check why the horses are being taken by road. We transport them in trucks and tempos, only occasionally they take the road. For a horse to trek three to four kilometres is not a big deal."

The exploitation of animals in films has long been a matter of debate. Jeetu Varma, who also provides animals for the shoot of several Bollywood films, adds that the subject was broached at the Producers' Guild meeting yesterday.

"We put forward the demand that producers need to pay for the transportation of the animals and that they cannot be taken by road. A few days ago, there was a mishap when a horse slipped and was injured. It also ended up injuring a passer-by."

When contacted, the film's spokesperson said, "The entry and exit to the Chitrakoot Ground is from a narrow gate. Add to it the surrounding area, that is bustling with traffic 24x7. There is no other route to bring the horses."