Showing posts with label Karan Sethia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karan Sethia. Show all posts

Campa Cola residents claim Ekta Kapoor's web series Home should've been run past them

Campa Cola residents claim Ekta Kapoor's Home should've been run past them
As Home gears up for release, society members claim show should've been run past them; writer says series not based on the incident
Mohar Basu and Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; August 30, 2018)

Karan Sethia, one of the residents of Worli's Campa Cola housing society, claims the promos of Ekta Kapoor's latest offering, Home, came as a rude shock to him. As the web series - which revolves around the residents of a housing society who are forced to vacate their flats after their building is deemed an illegal construction - gears up for release over the weekend, Sethia says that the makers should have sought the residents' approval, considering the show borrows from the real-life controversy.

File photo of Campa Cola residents "We had no idea about the show. We should have been involved during the making because it is an ongoing case, we can't afford to have the facts misrepresented," says Sethia, adding that the show's writer Neeraj Udhwani had reached out to him in 2016 to discuss the possibility of adapting the episode for the screen. "We took two meetings with him. I offered to put him through to other residents for research. But, he abruptly disappeared. We never gave him an approval."

Sethia says legal recourse against Kapoor is his last resort. "If the show depicts our fight, great. If there's any miscommunication about what we stood for, we may seek legal options."

Neeraj UdhyarWhen mid-day reached out to Udhwani, he claimed that the show reflects a problem that is rampant across India. "Home is not based on the Campa Cola case. I met a few residents of the buildings, but they were hesitant to share their stories. So I didn't pursue them further. There are many other societies facing similar issues and the show is loosely based on them."

Though director Habib Faisal had previously stated that his venture was inspired by the spirit of the Campa Cola case, Nimisha Pandey, head of content, ALTBalaji, said, "Though the situation is inspired from true events, it is not based on any real life story." The Campa Cola compound found itself mired in controversy after the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of 35 illegal floors housing around 100 flats.

A still from Home

Lata Mangeshkar comes out in support of her Campa Cola neighbours

The singer, who owns flat 802 in Ekta Apartments, tweets appeal to state government; says punishing residents for builders’ fault unjust
Pooja Kalwar & Chetna Yerunkar (MID-DAY; June 10, 2014)

Residents of the Campa Cola housing society, whose illegally constructed flats are set to be razed, received some much-needed support from none other than the melody queen Lata Mangeshkar, who also owns a flat in the 8th floor in the complex.

Tweeting last afternoon from her handle @mangeshkarlata, she said, “I just want to say one thing to the Maharashtra government about the Campa Cola case. Many people, including children and the elderly, will become homeless if the houses are razed. Three residents have died because of the stress. It is unjust that the residents will have to face trouble because of mistakes made by builders.” Mangeshkar owns an 8th-floor flat in Esha Ekta Apartments, which will also be razed. Despite repeated attempts, Mangeshkar was not available for comment.

Residents said they were pleasantly surprised by Mangeshkar’s tweet as they had not been able to talk to her and seek her support. They said they welcomed her intervention, even thought it may be too late. “We are grateful that someone of her stature is supporting us and can feel our pain,” said Vidya Srinivasan, one of the residents of the Campa Cola Compound.

Another resident, Nandini Mehta said, “ It is the happiest thing to see someone as famous as her trying to bring a change in our lives. I hope the CM listens to her and tries to find a solution.” Sharadchandra Ubale, assistant municipal commissioner of the G-South Ward said that none of the keys had been handed over and the civic body would take action as per the building proposal department’s instructions.

Residents, meanwhile, are planning to erect more tents if the BMC permits them. The tent which was put up last week has an area of nearly 1,200 sq ft but residents are aware that, with the monsoons coming up and 96 families set to vacate their flats, the space will not be enough. More tents are, therefore, on the cards.

The residents had received an objection notice by the BMC on Friday over the tent in the compound. The civic body had said the tent was illegal and had directed residents to remove it. This caused stress among the residents, who responded with an application to erect a tent. They have not heard from the civic body about that yet.

Vijay Mirani, a resident of Mid Town apartment in the compound, said, “We will stay in tents and silently protest against our houses being razed. The civic body should think about us before demolishing these floors.”

Srinivasan, another resident, said, “We have no option as 96 flats are going to be demolished. We obviously need a shelter. We are awaiting a response from the BMC on our application.”

“We will try to fit into a single tent but that won’t be possible because of the limited space. We will try to figure out a way or build more tents in the huge premises of the compound,” said Karan Sethia of Patel apartment.

LAST BUILDER PASSES AWAY
B K Gupta, one of the builders of Campa Cola, died last morning following prolonged illness. He was the last of the four builders responsible for the compound who was alive when the controversy over the illegal flats came to a head recently. Mid Town apartment and BY apartment were built by him between 1981-1989.