While the entertainment industry is prepping to get back to work and re-start shoots again, director Shujaat Saudagar will have to wait a little longer before he returns to the universe of Dongri to Dubai. The team of the Avinash Tiwary-fronted drama had recreated Dongri in Madh Island before the project rolled in mid-February. With the set lying unused for three months and monsoon hitting Mumbai, the makers have now decided to demolish it. Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, producers of the ambitious underworld drama, were facing the dilemma ever since the lockdown was extended in mid-May.
"We plan to shoot only after the monsoon. It's not a wise idea to reconstruct the set in the rains. Plus, we have to shoot major portions in live locations. Considering filming in real locations [is prohibited] for now, we decided that resuming work post the monsoon would be the best course of action," explains Saudagar of the series that is backed by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. Post September, the director promises he will dive headlong into the project. "We have about 60 days of shoot left. So, we are planning to film the pending portions in one go."
Over the past few weeks, some filmmakers and television producers have contemplated taking their pending projects to Hyderabad as the city's guidelines offer more flexibility. However, Saudagar dismisses the idea stating that the Netflix drama, which chronicles the rise of Dawood Ibrahim, is rooted in Mumbai. "Dongri to Dubai is a Mumbai-centric subject. So, I would like to shoot in the city. Also, taking the crew to Hyderabad is not practically possible. When making a movie, you can move around with the crew to different set-ups, but, making a show is a different ball game," he added.
The web series is based on the book Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia, and chronicles the rise of Dawood Ibrahim. Rebuilding the set from scratch will be an unforeseen additional expense.
(Source: Mid Day)
