We told you that adverse weather conditions in north India that also affected Dalhousie had led to the cancellation of the month-long spell of Lootera (HitList, January 10).
However, the continuing snowfall has made it difficult for the producers of the Ranveer Singh-Sonakshi Sinha love story set in the 1950s to ascertain the amount of loss that has been incurred.
More so because the set that cost about R 50 lakh to build, is still under piles of snow. Fortunately for the makers, the movie is insured for Rs 21 crore under a production package policy. Meanwhile, the cast and crew will start shooting for a month in Kolkata from January 23.
Confirming their situation, Vikas Bahl of the production company that is producing the film with Ekta Kapoor, says, "We hope the insurance covers the losses. But one can't say for sure until you sit down with the insurance company.
We have not only lost the set, but also several days of shoot." Needless to say, most of the films made in Bollywood today, are covered by insurance that has become a compulsory norm in the last five years.
Director Vikramaditya Motwane takes stock of the weather in Dalhousie
The production house has paid nearly Rs 10 lakh premium to Alliance Insurance Brokers on the production package policy loss.
"The team is currently figuring out and preparing production for the Kolkata schedule. After some days, when people are able to remove the snow in Dalhousie to ascertain the damage on the set, can we figure out the loss, " admits Bahl.
Instead of wasting the actors' dates due to the continuous bad weather, the producers and director Vikramaditya Motwane decided to advance the Kolkata schedule. While the crew prepares for production in the West Bengal capital, the lead stars are taking it easy in Mumbai, after returning from Jammu, where they were put up.
The Dalhousie schedule now has been postponed to February. "Fortunately, the snow we require for the shoot will still be there. As for rebuilding the set, we'll take the call after ascertaining the damage. The art director and his team had started working on the set in November, " says Bahl.
The Lootera crew at Dalhousie
Now it remains to be seen how much of the loss can the producers save. As Sumant Salian, Business Head, Media and Entertainment, Alliance Insurance Brokers maintained that his company would decide on it only after the producers file their claim.
The others
Agneepath: The rains played truant during the shoot of Agneepath last year. One day of shooting was lost due to heavy downpour last year, forcing the stars Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra to take a break.
Bol Bachchan: Producers Ajay Devgn and Shree Ashtavinayak had opted for insurance cover much before Abhishek Bachchan got injured during the shoot in Jaipur last year. The producers filed a claim for disruption of shoot caused by Abhishek's absence while he underwent treatment.
Rowdy Rathore: When Akshay Kumar requested for sick leave, Sanjay Leela Bhansali filed a claim for loss of three days of shooting.
Issak: Even reasonably budget films are covered by insurance these days. When Ravi Kishen got injured while shooting for Issak in Varanasi, producer Shailesh Singh didn't worry about loss of the days.
