Bollywood filmmaker Rahul Dholakia revealed that during the shoot of his 2010 film, Lamhaa, in Kashmir, he was held hostage along with 10,000 other people by the terrorists in the region. He also stated that the CRPF jawans stationed in the region "ran away" instead of helping the crew out of the situation.
Rahul told casting director Mukesh Chhabra how he was adamant on shooting Lamhaa in Kashmir -- a film set against the volatile politics of the valley. "I was very stubborn. There was no government in place, and terrorists were everywhere. On the first day, we were held hostage, along with 10,000 people, for about 4-4.5 hours," he shared.
He recalled that one of the terrorists asked for the producer, but since the film's producer was not present on the spot, Rahul stepped forward. "They asked me to come with them. The CRPF jawans ran away, as did the Jammu Police. I was locked in a room with 400 others and told, ‘You are against Kashmir'," the filmmaker stated.
He shared that he was finally released because one of the people present there recognised him as "the guy who made Parzania". Rahul said that when he asked the terrorists to let the female crew members go, they replied, "You are in Kashmir, not Hindustan. We respect our women."
Karisma, Deepika rejected Lamhaa: Rahul Dholakia
During the interview, he also revealed how Karisma Kapoor and Deepika Padukone rejected the film as it was to be shot in Kashmir, amid the tensions. "Karisma had just had kids and wanted to be a part of the film but refused to shoot in Kashmir. Deepika Padukone gave me the same answer," he said.
He eventually got Bipasha Basu on board, and revealed that she was furious when he made her shoot in Kashmir in the midst of a curfew. "How dare you make me shoot during curfew?" Bipasha said.
Alongside Bipasha, Lamhaa also starred Sanjay Dutt, and it showed the story of his character being sent on a mission to investigate a terrorist plit in Kashmir.
