The Kaamyaab director on finding his niche and voice, and gaining acceptance in the Hindi film industry
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 22, 2020)

His directorial debut Kaamyaab was widely appreciated by critics, but Hardik Mehta, who’s presently adding final touches to his next, an untitled horror comedy starring Rajkummar Rao and Jhanvi Kapoor, says “life hasn’t changed much since”.

Born in Rajkot and raised in Baroda, Mehta first made it to the entertainment pages in 2016 when his documentary Amdavad Ma Famous won the National Award for Best Non-Feature Film. Set against the backdrop of the biggest kite flying festival in India, the film follows an 11-year-old boy who chases kites. The docu was screened at many international film festivals. When we quiz him on his earliest introduction to the medium, Mehta points to his formative years when he sat through whatever played on TV at home — from family dramas to pot-boilers. “My father was a huge fan of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee, so I grew up watching all their films,” says the B-Tech in Dairy Technology from Anand.

A regular at theatre festivals during college, it took Mehta two years in a job with a dairy outfit in Surat to realise that he wasn’t “meant to be in the technical field”. He turned copywriter with a Baroda-based agency and decided to part with half his salary of Rs 6,000 to watch a new film every day. “I was a regular at this DVD library in Baroda, which had a surprisingly massive collection of world cinema,” says Mehta.

His passion for films further crystallised when he got through Jamia Millia Islamia for a post-graduation degree in film production. Mehta’s final year project impressed filmmaker Dev Benegal so much that he roped him in as a script continuity supervisor for Road, Movie, his 2010 film starring Abhay Deol. He later bagged a similar role with filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane, whom he assisted on Lootera (2013), worked as the production assistant on Queen (2014) and co-wrote the screenplay for Trapped (2017).

Mehta had written the first draft of Kaamyaab, which revolves around a veteran supporting actor returning to films for his 500th turn, back in 2014 — coincidentally around the time when Alejandro Iñárritu’s Birdman released. “The thematics of the films were very similar,” he says. “But Vikramaditya [Motwane] assured me that my story was more culturally appropriate for Indian cinema.”

The writer-director, who hopes to adopt the cinematic sensibilities of German filmmaker Werner Herzog and considers A Guide for the Perplexed: Conversations with Paul Cronin to be his bible, was certain about translating his story on the big screen. But many, including those he had worked with, felt he had to prove himself before helming a project. “That’s when I stumbled upon this boy in Ahmedabad who risked his life and limb to nab kites and felt it could turn into an interesting observation on film,” he says, alluding to his self-funded documentary which met wide acclaim at festivals. Looking back, he feels it “lacks finesse” and is visibly “a first-timer’s job”, but “that’s what makes it unique”.

Mehta also directed a short film called The Affair, inspired by couples who make out along the shores of Mumbai because they can’t afford privacy at home. Manish Mundra’s Drishyam Films included it in their catalogue, and even agreed to back Mehta’s feature proposal, Kaamyaab, with Sanjay Mishra in the lead role.

Today, Mehta is humbled by the critical response to his debut and feels that the only way to gain acceptance in an industry known to be singularly insular, is by “upping one’s game”. “If you have to learn swimming, you have to jump into the pool. If you have to be a writer, you have to stare at a blank page,” he says.

Despite the acclaim, however, Kaamyaab had a modest release over only 250 screens, thanks perhaps to the release of a massive action-thriller in the same week. But Mehta is certain that his film wouldn’t have made it to the screens at all if it hadn’t been backed by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment. “It’s ironic that we needed a superstar to promote a film about character actors too, but that’s the world we live in,” he says.

The actor, who turned 80 on December 14, is bringing back his evergreen melodies
Labonita Ghosh (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 16, 2019)

“In the beginning, they called me a ‘suspense hero’, because of my first Hindi film, Bees Saal Baad. Later, when I started doing romantic roles, I became a ‘musical hero’,” says actor Biswajeet Chatterjee, best known only by his first name. The only thing the industry hasn’t labelled him as—even though that’s what he actually is—is a ‘singing hero’. Few know that the actor, who turned 80 on December 14, is actually a good singer as well, and has released several singles in his home state of West Bengal, including collaborations with music directors like Salil Chowdhury and Amol Mukherjee, singer Hemant Kumar’s younger brother.

Interestingly, the actor admits he’s never had any formal training in music. But, after he made it big in Bollywood, he was often invited to go on concerts with established singers. “I’ve toured all over the world,” Biswajeet informs, with understandable pride. “I’ve performed with Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Ghulam Ali and many others. In the ’70s, when these tours were organised abroad, stars like Shammi Kapoor would also join in, but they would get on stage to just say a few words, perhaps introduce a song. Only Biswajeet would actually sing.” He was so good that during one concert in Singapore Shashi Kapoor, who, was in the audience, turned to his wife Ira and asked in surprise: “Is that really Biswajeet singing?”

Despite his proven singing chops, the actor wasn’t keen on singing in Hindi films even though directors and producers constantly requested him to and that’s why he would never agree to concerts in the Maximum City. “Once Manmohan Desai, who was being quite persistent, asked me, ‘Why won’t you do it, Dada? You sing so well.’ That got me thinking,” Biswajeet reminisces. The actor, it seems, had a well-thought-out career plan. “I didn’t come to Mumbai to become a playback singer,” he says. “I came here to be a Bollywood hero. That had always been my ambition, and I didn’t want to get distracted. Besides, I realised that if singers like Mohd. Rafi or Hemant Kumar lent their voice to me, they would do an infinitely better job, and there was a good chance the songs would become superhits. Who do you think would benefit the most from that?” he asks, with a smile. Luckily for him, that’s actually what happened.

The only playback Biswajeet has done is a song from his film with Rekha, titled Do Shikaari. “The crew of Mehmaan had organised a birthday party for me,” he recalls. “By popular demand, I was asked to sing. Everyone was in high spirits, as was I, when producer Kuljit Pal — who later made Do Shikaari — extracted a promise from me that I would give playback for his next film. He insisted it was my birthday gift to him, so I couldn’t refuse.” The song, “Ae Dil Meri Jaan”, plays in the background all through the film.

Thanks to his love for music, R D Burman was a good friend, as was actor Mehmood. “He may have been a comedian, but Mehmood had an excellent ear for music and rhythm. It was he who gave Pancham his first break in a film called Chhote Nawab,” the actor points out.

The octogenarian, today, has become a singer too, and has a concert coming up on Thursday, December 19, in Mumbai, as part of his birthday celebrations. “Besides chartbusters from my films, I also sing songs from the films of others. I usually include six or seven songs in every concert,” says Biswajeet, who, last month had a successful concert in Rajkot which went on till 1 am, and in the audience was Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s wife, Anjali. Among the songs he likes to sing on stage today are some of his greatest hits like “Pukarta Chala Hoon Main” (from Mere Sanam), “Yeh Nayan Dare Dare” Kohraa), “Bequarar Karke Hamen” (Bees Saal Baad) and “Oh My Love, Nazar Na Lag Jaye” (Night in London). “If I had to sing only the hits from my films, we would need two or three backto-back concerts,” he says with a chuckle.

BOMBAY TIMES (April 4, 2019)

John Abraham’s upcoming espionage thriller Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW) is one of those rare Indian films that travels across the length and breadth of India. Set in the tumultuous period of 1971, the film is based on true events that impact the future of three countries — India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. To retain the authenticity of a region, writer-director Robbie Grewal made sure to shoot in real locations of Mumbai, Gujarat, Kashmir, parts of North India and also, Nepal within a well-planned 46-day schedule. The crew did an extensive recce and research to recreate India and Pakistan of the bygone era of the 1970s.

SKIPPED PUNJAB LOCATION FOR GUJARAT TO RECREATE PAKISTAN IN INDIA
A major chunk of the film has been shot in remote locations across Gujarat. Robbie explains, “Authenticity and accuracy is what we focussed on while scouting and filming it on real locations. We shot in places like Vansda, Rajpipla, and the unique Moti Bhamri village that looks preserved in time. Places like Dharmaj, old Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Palitana, Rajkot and Gondal actually look like Muslim residential areas and busy towns of the past. We avoided typical Gujarat locations because our aim was to be true to our story’s requirements, which is about a spy working across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the seventies. I had to create Pakistan in India, and Junagadh in Gujarat served as the perfect location for that. It has no malls, and is almost a virgin city in terms of film shoots. Interestingly in the past, there was a court case that argued that Junagadh is technically a part of Pakistan.”

Most of the film’s action takes place in Pakistan. Since accessing any location there is impossible, Robbie had to improvise and plan ahead. “Most recent Indian series have been filmed in a place called Malerkotla in Punjab to capture Pakistan, so they do end up looking similar. For some bizarre reason, no one has explored these locations in Gujarat yet. So we built a set here and shot the film,” he reveals, adding, “Kudos to our production team that worked really hard to find such suitable locations.”


‘IN KASHMIR, WE EMPLOYED LOCALS TO BE A PART OF THE FILM’S SHOOT’
Since John essays the role of a RAW agent, he is seen traversing the length and breadth of the Indian sub-continent. So it also became essential to film in Nepal and Kashmir, as a crucial portion of the story is set there. Robbie informs, “We shot in Pokhara in Nepal, an old fashioned, quaint town which is about 5-hours drive from Kathmandu, the capital city. Not just that, the locations were brilliant and the food was absolutely fabulous.”

Talking about his fantastic experience of shooting in Gulmarg and Srinagar, he says, “We had a great time shooting in Kashmir. People out there are tremendously helpful. I have shot at both the locations in the past, too. I think the problem with Kashmir today is lack of work. I feel fortunate that RAW in some way contributed to it by employing the locals to be a part of the film’s shoot. At the end of it, everyone was happy.” Lastly, the film’s interior portions were shot on the sets in Mumbai.

In a day and age where special effects, visual editing and studio locations dominate filmmaking, Robbie has gone to great lengths to ensure authenticity for his espionage thriller. This has resulted in the film offering unseen, visually intriguing locations of the great Indian outdoors.

Besides John, the film also boasts of a stellar ensemble star cast, which includes Jackie Shroff, Mouni Roy, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, Sikandar Kher and Raghubir Yadav in pivotal roles.

Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), which is produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Dheeraj Wadhawan, Ajay Kapoor, Vanessa Walia, and Gary Grewal, releases on April 5.

Swara Bhaskar on the issues women face in society today, feminism and its misuse...
Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; April 29, 2017)

Swara Bhaskar’s last release — Anaarkali Of Aarah — saw her playing a victim of sexual abuse and violence, who finally takes revenge. It’s just a reflection of the society we live in, albeit that it’s not any film and everyone doesn’t have the courage to fight it out, thanks to the societal pressure. In this interview, Swara speaks about the different issues that plague society, especially Indian women today, explains her take on feminism and how people misuse it as well. Over to her...

You played a woman who’s sexually abused in your last film. Have you ever faced something like that?
You tell me who hasn’t been? It is somehow a rite of passage for a passenger in India to be molested. People actually chat about the first time they were molested. Usually, all girls have faced molestation by the time they are around 14-15. That’s how dangerous our society is. I don’t believe you can grow up in any part of the world, and especially in India, without ever being molested by a man. It is not possible. I have been molested. Interestingly, I have been molested and eve-teased in Mumbai as much as I have had to deal with it in Delhi.

The biggest challenge for a woman in a society where you have to be ashamed for what has happened to you, is to fight your impulse. I have done that, I have fought my impulses to make myself react. I have been groped during Prem Ratan Dhan Payo when we landed at Rajkot. I was travelling with Salman Sir and nobody realised, but there were around 2,000 people at the airport to see him. Despite the fact there was security, people got in and it was Anupam Kher who made sure I got into the car. It was crazy. As a female artiste, you know the feeling of being vulnerable in front of a crowd, which is why I connected with my character Anaarkali. You know that when we were shooting the Holi scene in Ranjhanaa, the production has put five boys from the AD team around us in that get-up, to protect us from the rest of the crowd.

Have you ever hit anybody?
Yes, lots of times! The first time, I slapped a guy for pinching me in Old Delhi. There used to be a Sunday book bazaar there, so I caught hold of the guy. These people don’t expect women to react which is why it’s all the more important for women to react. Because the whole mentality of a molester, groper and an eve-teaser is the anonymity and the confidence that the girl won’t react. The moment you instill that fear in their head that the girl may react and she can beat the s**t out of them, they tend to stay away. I have hit people in Delhi, Chennai and sometimes, I have chased people. I have beaten someone with my umbrella in Mumbai. I was in a train alone — this was my first year in Mumbai — going somewhere to collect a cheque. I was in the first-class compartment and it was in the late afternoon so it was empty. A drug addict got in and when I turned around, I see this man masturbating. For one second, I was scared. It took me a second to realise what was going on, I started yelling at him, and beating him with the umbrella. I tried to catch hold of his collar because I knew the moment the train stops, he will run. I knew I can get him to the police if I hold him back. But the moment the train slowed down, he realised I was holding him to get him to the police, and he jumped off from the other end of the compartment.

Do you think victim-shaming is something that women are scared of and hence they prefer to not report serious incidences...
(Cuts in) Absolutely! Frankly, Indian women inherit this collective cultural unconscious — this sense of guilt, shame and dishonour. What do we teach our girl child today? We teach them to be guilty of their own desires, if they shop for themselves it’s wrong. But spend on your husband, your kids, be obedient and think about everybody else’s good except yours. I remember for the longest time, especially when I was growing up, the first time I kissed a guy, I felt ashamed. I felt I did something very wrong and imagine, I was 18 years old then. It wasn’t that I was too young as well. I think Indian girls need to become shameless and a little selfish too. It’s not about individuals, it’s about girls in general. We need to lose that burden of guilt and that ‘haww’ feeling. That is the stupidest feeling ever.

What was the situation in your house when you were growing up?
My parents actually have always been very liberal people. They are very decent, nice understanding and empathetic people. I was 14 when I was just going around with a boy and at that time, going around meant just saying hi to each other during the lunch break. My parents were shocked when I told them ‘I was going around with so and so’. They were like what, where are you going? They were very upset but like I said, when you put something on the table, it suddenly doesn’t become wrong anymore. There was nothing to hide so when the phone calls would come, I would tell them about it. I was a very proper ethical kid and my boyfriends were literally warned to not give me blank calls because that was the scene that time. Papa ne hello bola toh phone rakh dena is not happening, I told everyone. You have to ask for me and you need to have the balls to do that. My dad won’t say no if someone called for me. So, it became normalised and as a daughter, I have told my parents everything. I know a frank conversation can solve everything. This is how the policy of total honesty started with my parents.

They must be really happy about it, given how kids usually are with parents today...
No. Now they feel bad because I feel they don’t want to know so many details about me. (Laughs) If there’s anything that they have to know or the world gets to know about me, they hear it first from me. That’s a rule I follow in life. Now, maybe they are a little sick of it, I guess. They have that ‘do we need to know everything?’ look and feeling nowadays. I tell them all the awkward things through email.

What’s your take on feminism? Or do you think it’s misinterpreted by most women today?
I think there’s a lot of misuse of the word feminism. I don’t think if people even understand it. It’s not about getting special rights for women or getting more rights than men. Not about cutting the balls off men. That is all bullsh**. Feminism believes that men and women should be free of gender constraints. Their sex should not determine what their aspirations, personalities or their opportunities are in life. So, a woman shouldn’t always be pressured to be a woman, a man also shouldn’t constantly be asked to ‘Be a man’. Feminism is equally fighting for men — to be free of masculinity. If there’s a pressure of patriarchy on women, there’s also a huge pressure that patriarchy puts on men — to be manly, masculine in a certain way. I don’t think feminism is about being a nasty person. It’s about getting rights for women in general collectively. If you don’t have any feeling of sisterhood about women, how are you even a feminist? You have to be able to be friends with other women. Equally, feminism is not about just burning bras because these are all symbolic things that happened in the ’60s or something. It’s done, it’s over with. It’s much misunderstood term.

Are you a feminist?
Yes, I am a feminist. I’m a balanced person, I don’t want special rights for women. And I know a lot of people call out feminists for fake dowry cases. But all I will say is a truly feminist person will never ever file a fake dowry case. There can be nothing more damaging for feminism than to misuse laws that are meant to protect women.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 7, 2017)

Mirror had earlier reported (March 31) that the 10th edition of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) will travel through eight cities, starting and culminating in Hyderabad, and that there will be as many as eight opening ceremonies in each of the home grounds, including Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Pune and Rajkot.

Tonight, Tiger Shroff kicks off the Gujarat Lions v/s Kolkata Knight Riders match at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot with an electrifying dance performance at 8 pm just before the first ball is bowled. The 27-yearold actor has been rehearsing diligently in between prep for his upcoming film, Student of the Year 2.

“I am performing to all my hit, peppy dance numbers and have been rehearsing since the past few weeks. It’s definitely exciting performing in front of such a huge audience and reaching out to fans,” Tiger who had just landed in Rajkot told Mirror, requesting a quick break so he could oblige enthusiastic fans with selfies and autographs.

Interestingly, the actor doesn’t follow the sport and prefers football. But he is happy to join hands with another footie fan, John Abraham, for an endorsement deal.

“I feel extremely privileged to have worked with John sir. He’s an action star I look up to,” says the actor hurrying back to the Tigerians.

Avinash Lohana & Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 31, 2017)

In its tenth year, the Indian Premiere League (IPL), is expected to travel through eight cities, commencing and culminating in Hyderabad. But this time around, apart from the new IPL anthem, “Yeh Dus Saal Aapke Naam”, there are as many as eight opening ceremonies in each of the home grounds, including Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Pune and Rajkot.

Mirror has learnt that Tiger Shroff is slated to perform on his chartbusters as well as hits from mentor Hrithik Roshan’s films, including “Dhoom Machale”, in a power-packed performance. The 25-year-old actor will be accompanied by mother Ayesha as he kicks off proceedings at Rajkot’s Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium.

Tiger’s Baaghi co-star, Shraddha Kapoor, will also be performing on her own chartbusters before the match commences in Kolkata where a grand ceremony has been planned. “Shraddha will soon start rehearsing for her act and is really excited. Her father Shakti Kapoor who has played cricket at the state-level and is a huge fan of the sport, will also attend the event to cheer his daughter on and support Shah Rukh Khan’s IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders,” informs a source close to the development.

Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will play Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game in Hyderabad on April 5. The final match of the 10th edition, slated for May 21, will also take place at the Hyderabad venue. For the galas in the Nizam’s City, the organisers plan to rope in five celebrities but haven’t decided on the final list yet.

Last year’s opening ceremony lasted two hours and 15 minutes with performances by Katrina Kaif, Ranveer Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez and rapper Honey Singh. The American dancehall reggae group, Major Lazer, set the stage on fire with singer Shweta Pandit. Cricketer-singer Dwayne Bravo performed a jig on his chartbuster, “Champion.” Bravo was joined by playback singer Ankit Tewari who sang an Indian version of “Champion”, titled “Hindustan Mein Bade Bade Champion”.

However, filmmaker calls the Jethanis “publicity hungry” and vows to make them pay
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 8, 2017)


Rajkumar Santoshi’s comeback plans have hit another roadblock and this one has dragged him to court. The filmmaker has been charged under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 after a cheque of Rs 17,50,000 bounced and an arrest warrant was issued against him on January 17. The Rajkot magistrate court has granted him bail for a surety of Rs 25,000 in the cheque bounce case on March 4. He was made to wait in court for the entire day and was warned against persistently failing to appear in court before this despite summons. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, K D Parmar, has warned him to “remain present in person or through his advocate henceforth, failing which, surety will be forfeited”. Santoshi will now have to appear in court for the first hearing on April 1.

In 2013, a complaint was filed by the real estate barons-turned-producers, Dhanraj and Anil Jethani, who had last co-produced the 2013-film Ankur Arora Murder Case. The father-son duo claims that the filmmaker met them that year to discuss a film with a budget of approximately Rs 1.50 crore. The project didn’t materialise and over the next year, the Jethanis claim, Santoshi presented them with multiple cheques, one amounting to Rs 17,50,000. All of which bounced.

“I sent him several legal notices which he did not respond to and after a while even stopped answering my calls as well,” Anil Jethani told Mirror, adding that the case was transferred from Rajkot to Mumbai and back to Rajkot, which explains the delay. “A magistrate court in Mumbai issued a warrant against Santoshi in 2015. He was to appear in court but failed to do so. I was then asked to transfer the case back to Rajkot where the initial transactions had taken place.” All through 2016, Santoshi failed to turn up for hearings and appeared only after a non-bailable warrant was issued against him on January 17.

When contacted Rajkumar Santoshi called the Jethanis “publicity hungry liars” and denied having taken even a rupee from them. “Anil Jethani comes to Mumbai to party, picking up young starlets for his films. He is sleazy and what he is claiming is untrue. My lawyers are replying to him with a legal notice and we are going to challenge him in court. He will be the one paying for this,” he ranted saying the Jethanis are trying to get publicity using his name. “The matter is subjudiced, so why is Jethani talking to the media? He has no credentials and agreements with me and only wants to tarnish my reputation. I have refused to attend his functions and parties in the past. Why would I ever associate with such people?”

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; December 10, 2016)

Telly actress Tina Dattaa, best remembered as Ichcha from daily show Uttaran, went through a harrowing time while travelling from Mumbai to Rajkot last morning. Tina alleges a co-passenger seated behind her touched her inappropriately and the airline crew informed her such incidents were routine.

Says Tina, “As soon as I sat down, I felt someone trying to sneak his hands through the side and touch me. I screamed at him. Taken aback, the man, identified as Rajesh, started stammering and apologised. Crew members intervened, but proved to be of little help. They had the audacity to tell me such things happen and that they will change the man’s seat. I demanded that he be offloaded, but was told that I would also have to get off to file a complaint.”

Tina then demanded to speak to the captain. “But he told me before take off, the crew is not responsible for anything that happens on board. I was appalled. Barring one family, no other passenger stood up for me.”

She also claims to have been yelled at by another passenger seated in front when requested to straighten his seat so that she could pull her tray out and have food.

The Jet Airways spokes-person said, “A guest filed a complaint with the cabin crew against another guest, seated in proximity to her, for inappropriate behaviour. The crew took due cognisance of the complaint and allocated a different seat to the latter guest. As per standard operating procedure, the cabin crew informed the security agencies, which have taken over the matter.”

DNA (March 3, 2015)

Sonam Kapoor was air-dashed from Rajkot where she was shooting for Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, when the actress was diagonised with Swine Flu. She is now put on a strict dose of Tamiflu in a suburban hospital where her health is being monitored. Naturally, co-star Salman Khan has been very worried about Sonam’s health and has been keeping a tab on her. He has been constantly in touch with Rhea and Anil and has been enquiring about her health. It’s not just Salman but even her other co-stars like Swara Bhaskar and Neil Nitin Mukesh who are equally worried and have been in touch with her family throughout.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 2, 2015)

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Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; March 2, 2015)

Sonam Kapoor, who caught swine flu while shooting for Sooraj Barjatya’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo in Gujarat, was transferred to a city hospital on Sunday morning. Sources said the actress was airlifted from a private hospital in Rajkot after she tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

In a text message, Dr Ram Narian, CEO of Kokilaben Hospital here, confirmed the buzz: “Sonam Kapoor admitted to Kokilaben Hospital at 11.30 am today. Transferred from Rajkot. H1N1 positive. On treatment. Stable in the ward (sic).”

The actress had been running high temperature for over three days while shooting for the Salman Khan-starrer. “She was advised to undergo the swine flu test and tested positive,” says a source.

Her mother, Sunita, reached Rajkot on Saturday and decided to shift her to Mumbai for treatment. Sources at the city airport say, “ Sonam walked to the ambulance and reached the hospital at around 10.30am. She, her family members as well as the security men were all wearing masks.” Sonam is likely to stay in the hospital for at least five days, which is the normal course of treatment for the flu, to be followed by further rest of about four to five days.

The actress had fallen ill on the set of the same film at ND Studio some time ago due to a respiratory tract infection, which led to catching the deadly flu, a source claimed.

A source from the Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo production says, “Only half a day’s shoot with Sonam is pending. The other cast members will shoot at the same location for two more days. The Udaipur schedule is expected to start from March 12.”