Asia’s largest slum Dharavi recreated for ‘Bhootnath Returns’

Production designer Wasiq Khan who known for his realistic sets. Who can forget the sets of ‘Gulaal’, and ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, and erecting the rusticity-tinged baroque sets for ‘Goliyon ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’, well he has gone ahead and recreated the largest slum in Asia, Dharavi, for a ghost! Yes, for Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Bhoothnath Returns’.

As per sources, Wasiq said, “The ‘Bhootnath Returns’ team had to shoot in Dharavi, but it was not possible to shoot with Big B in such a crowded place, so a set was erected inside the studio. But before that the team shot in Dharavi for three days with a Bachchan look-alike. The rest of the scenes were shot on the sets with Mr. Bachchan in a manner that it all flowed seamlessly. You will not be able to tell the real from the artificial, given the attention to details. A film with a ghost is bound to have special effects, so before preparing for a shot, they had to keep in mind camera angles, the computer graphics (CG) and the post-production in general. The friendly ghost is not confined only to the streets of Dharavi. He also travels to Hell and Heaven.”

Wasiq further added that , “Hell was the first set to go up. Sixty per cent of what you will see on screen is the set, and the rest is special effects. On the first day of the shoot Big B took a good half-an-hour to inspect the set. Later, he even tweeted about it saying that such a detailed set enhances an artiste’s performance.”