Patna, March 1: Patna College was all abuzz today with the shooting of the documentary film The Return of JC Bose on the college campus. But it was not smooth sailing for the cast and crew of the film. The shooting was interrupted after college authorities asked them to suspend their work.
The authorities claimed the film unit had not taken prior permission from them to shoot on the campus. Moreover, the commotion surrounding the shoot was allegedly disturbing classes and examinations.
The film unit members, however, refuted the claim of the authorities and said they had taken permission for the shoot yesterday.
“Jagadish Chandra Bose was arguably the first modern scientist of India. We are trying to pay tribute to a distinguished personality. Moreover, this is not a commercial film. It is a documentary on Bose and the environment. We cannot understand the problem,” said Monika Sinha, the producer of the film.
The crew were shooting at a portion of the college when the college authorities suddenly asked them to leave, said a source.
“We were trying to depict a typical fish market of the 19th century in Calcutta. A special horse drawn buggy has been brought from Calcutta for the shoot,” said Sinha.
College authorities, however, said as the Patna University final examinations were round the corner and the LLB final year examinations were on, the permission for the shoot had to be denied. The authorities were also not happy with certain things the film unit had brought on the campus.
“The authorities had some problems with the various things the unit had brought on campus. So the permission was cancelled,” said Patna College principal-in-charge K.N. Paswan.
Santosh Badal, the director of the film, said it was very disappointing to be denied permission at the last minute.
“We spent almost Rs 5 lakh for the day. We have shot at other locations in Patna, like Boring Road, Sahid Smarak and MLA flats, but never faced such problems,” said Badal.
The shoot was resumed after the film unit managed to pacify the college authorities.
