'Lanka' cast, crew rattled by gunfire

The cast of Manoj Bajpai's next got the fright of their lives when they heard gun firing on their outdoor location

The cast of Manoj Bajpai's next got the fright of their lives when they heard gun firing on their outdoor location

The boom of guns and bullets being fired may dominate the soundtrack of the movie, but the cast and crew of Lanka had a first-hand experience of being in the line of fire.

While shooting in a remote highway near Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, they were rattled by gunshots fired by the villagers. Manoj Bajpai, Arjan Bajwa and Tia Bajpai form part of the cast.


Manoj Bajpai, Arjan Bajwa, director Maqbool Khan and
Yashpal Sharma on the sets of their film

Says director Maqbool Khan, "It was scary, as we had not encountered anything like this. We had just packed up late in the night and were leaving the place. Suddenly guns went booming at intermittent intervals.
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We were wondering why they were firing shots at us. Perhaps it was a case of mistaken identity." He adds, "Some of the other crew members were tailing us in their vehicles, so we had to warn them of the impending danger ahead!"

The debutant director adds, "When we got off from our cars and asked the passers-by, they told us that it was a routine occurrence in the night.

The villagers fire shots in the air to ward off animals from their fields as well as trespassers. This was their way of a security cover from unwanted danger!" Luckily for them they only had punctured tyres to contend with.