When the British authorities see what Imtiaz Ali and Saif Ali Khan have done, they are certainly not going to be amused.
The enterprising director and his producer-actor not just dodged the authorities to shoot in an area of London where shooting is forbidden, they also got the local cops to co-operate and help with the shooting.Red-tapism
For Love Aaj Kal, Imtiaz and Saif needed to shoot at the crowded and posh Leadenhall Market in London but were denied permission. Imtiaz suggested they do the shooting surreptitiously, knowing that the repercussions of a foreign unit caught shooting without permission, could be far-reaching.
The director admits, "There's too much red-tapism in London about shooting, much of it obsolete and irrelevant. The people sitting in authority are like those bureaucratic babus in our secretariats who don't know why they're saying yes or no. They're just obeying the written word."
The scam
He recounts the harrowing experience, "We hid the cameras in vans and the cast and crew walked into the location casually. Once there, we pretended that we were shooting with the relevant permission. The unsuspecting cops on duty were extremely charmed... and charming. They went out of their way to help us and even participated in the shooting."
The irony of the authorities co-operating with a surreptitious shooting didn't end there. Chuckles Imtiaz, "We saw this woman with a horse passing by and wanted to capture it on camera. But couldn't. When we expressed regret, they called back the lady and the horse and made them walk by for our camera's sake."
The director concludes by saying, "It's getting difficult to shoot in England. I found it far easier to get the required permissions and shoot in the US."
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