Riteish Deshmukh’s ‘Banjo’ goes dry to save water in drought hit Maharashtra

Riteish Deshmukh and Nargis Fakhri starrer ‘Banjo’ makers have decided to do their bit for the drought struck Maharashtra. They have reworked a Ganpati song sequence that would have required several litres of water thus avoided wasting it. Several villages across Maharashtra are facing severe drought crisis, that has affected around 90 lakh families of farmers. Many have died due to dehydration while many have committed suicide.

Top notch Bollywood actors have stepped in and are doing their bit to help the needy farmers and their families. Nana Patekar has donated his earnings, Akshay Kumar too has donated to the water conservation project.

Riteish Deshmukh said, “I hail from Latur and am fully aware of the drought situation currently across many regions in and around my hometown. In such a scenario, it didn’t feel right for us to use excess water for filming a particular scene; it was a unanimous decision between the producer, director and me to rework the scene.”

Banjo producer, Krishika Lulla added, “The sequence originally had Riteish dancing with his band in a rain sequence during the Ganpati song and this would have resulted in wasting a lot of water. Being responsible citizens, and understanding the seriousness of the water crisis in the State, we opted for dhol, gulal and dance instead, to create a festive revelry without compromising the look or feel.”

‘Banjo’ features Riteish Deshmukh and Nargis Fakhri as leads. It will release on August 19, 2016.

Also Read: ‘Banjo’: Nargis Fakhri unveils her first look from the film