Despite the sensitivity of it's subject, the makers of upcoming Bollywood film Lamhaa said filming in India's strive-torn Kashmir went ahead smoothly.
"We had the full support of the state so had no complaints and no worries," said producer Bunty Walia at a press conference on Thursday.
Walia, along with film stars Sanjay Dutt, Anupam Kher, Bipasha Basu and Kunal Kapoor met with the press to showcase their latest film at the ongoing IIFA Weekend in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The film centres around a military intelligence officer, played by Dutt, who is sent to Kashmir to investigate a corruption case, and ends up exposing a dangerous nexus that could implicate politicians, powerful businessmen and bureaucrats in the Indian and Pakistani intelligence. Basu plays a young political leader and protégé of a separatist leader played by Anupam Kher.
Promoted as a never-before-told story about the people of Kashmir, the film caused controversy when Asiya Andrabi, the leader of an organistion called Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters of the Nation), a group fighting for strict Islamic morals in Jammu and Kashmir, filed a case against the producers to stall it.
Andrabi claims that Basu's character was modeled on her, and that, the actress was the wrong person to play her.
"I don't want to see my character played by a woman like Bipasha Basu who prefers to be semi-nude most of the times," she told the UK's Daily Telegraph in January.
But speaking at the press conference, Lamhaa director Rahul Dholakhi denied that Basu's character was based on Andrabi.
"I have interviewed her [Andrabi] once and I can tell you, there is no resemblance," he said.
The cast and crew were also asked if they were apprehensive about previewing their film in Colombo, following protests by pro-Tamil groups who have rejected Sri Lanka as choice of venue for IIFA.
Indian media reported today that some groups have forcefully stopped the screening of the Hrithik Roshan starrer ‘Kites' in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Roshan is currently here in Colombo, captaining the Bollywood team playing against Sri Lanka at a charity match.
"Films have no boundaries and they are for everyone," said Dutt, 52. "We are a family of mixed cultues and we entertain people. We do not specifically act for Tamils or Sri Lankans or Hindus or Muslim," he said.
Basu, who apparently underwent major transformation for her character in Lamhaa, agreed, saying cinema, no matter what language, should be celebrated at such events.
"We are here to spread the message of entertainment," she said.
