'India Considered Unfriendly Shooting Location': Hansal Mehta REACTS As Omar Abdullah Slams Filming Of Maharani Inside J&K Assembly

National Conference vice-president and former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday slammed the shooting of Maharani starring  Huma Qureshi inside the legislative assembly complex and called it 'an absolute shame.' In June 2023, the series was shot inside the assembly complex in Jammu.

Omar Abdullah on X, formerly on Twitter wrote, "The true face of “the mother of democracy”, where once elected representatives of the people from all parties, religions, backgrounds & parts of J&K legislated on matters of great importance now actors & extras use it as a set for TV dramas. What a shame that the BJP driven government in J&K has reduced the symbol of democracy, where they once sat & governed, to this sorry state of affairs. They even have a fake CM coming out of an office I was privileged to occupy for 6 years. What an absolute shame!!!!"

Reacting to this, Hansal said, "Why is it a shame? How is filming of a drama demeaning democracy or the ‘mother of democracy’? Every body on a film set including actors, background actors(called ‘extras’ by you) are all citizens of this country and have every right to work with dignity and deserve respect and understanding- at least from somebody as educated as yourself."

Check it out:

He added, "In countries around the world we are given use of public places, government buildings, council halls and the like for shooting. It is because of this unwelcoming attitude that india is considered an unfriendly shooting location and we often prefer shooting abroad. I have great respect for you but this feels very disrespectful, regressive and myopic."

Meanwhile, Maharani is said to be based on many incidents that took place in Bihar in the 1990s when Lalu Prasad Yadav made his wife Rabri Devi his successor.