Filmmaker Rohit Shetty, who has created a Bollywood cop universe with films like the Singham series, Simmba and is back with Sooryavanshi. In the upcoming film, Akshay Kumar plays DCP Veer Sooryavanshi, who heads Anti-Terrorism Squad. His character was announced towards the end of Rohit's 2018 directorial Simmba.
Although Singham and Simmba were shot in Goa, Sooryavanshi required Rohit to film extensively in Mumbai. As we all know it is difficult to shoot at real locations in Mumbai, Rohit revealed to a leading daily that Mumbai police made it possible to film at landmark venues like the Lower Parel flyover and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. "We were shooting at night at the Lower Parel bridge. I wanted a beautiful shot of the police convoy on the flyover, but [it's usually bustling with traffic]," he said, adding that after they took permission from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), it were the cops who helped clearing out the area. "It was amazing to see how the cops managed the crowd that had gathered there. It's a crowded area, and if they hadn't been with us, it would have been impossible for us to shoot," he further mentioned.
Rohit has often been told that he glorifies police brutality in his film, in terms of encounter killings and violence. However, he asserts that he closely interacts with cops while developing the script to avoid errors. "Before shooting for Sooryavanshi, we met some cops. They helped us determine the uniforms that each character would wear [corresponding to their designation], or the process that ATS follows [before an arrest]. They helped us with the research, following which we took it forward and fictionalised it," he signed off.
Sooryavanshi is written by Sajid-Farhad. Produced by Shetty, Karan Johar, Aruna Bhatia, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta, the film also features Gulshan Grover, Abhimanyu Singh, Niharica Raizada, Jackie Shroff, Sikandar Kher, Nikitin Dheer and Vivan Bhatena. It is to be theatrically released in India on March 24.
(Source: Mid-Day)
