RA Studio in Powai only witnessed film shoots until Thursday afternoon, when Rohit Arya, who held 16 children and an adult hostage on its premises, was shot down. According to a source close to the studio’s management, Arya had approached them about a week ago, seeking to rent the studio, the in-house mini-theatre, as well as a space upstairs, which is also owned by them.

Arya claimed that he would require a lot of space as he was going to be auditioning a lot of children for a web-series, and he also planned to conduct the rehearsals on the premises. The management, which usually allots the space on the upper floors to a training school, agreed to give it out to him as he seemed to be in need of a bigger space. The auditions started about four days ago, and according to the sources, 30 to 40 children had already visited the studio in the past four days. Thursday started like any other day, and the staff could see several children being ushered in.