12th Fail 100 days’ celebration: Vidhu Vinod Chopra got into a FIGHT when he was disturbed by loud music while shooting UPSC interview scene: “I told him, ‘Main sar fod dunga tera’; Luckily, meri reputation bahut KHARAB hai”

By Fenil Seta -

February 4, 2024 - 9:46 AM IST

A lot of effort goes into making films and not just for grand action scenes or big-scale songs. Even scenes that might seem ordinary or easy to execute might have given a headache to the makers. A crowd of 200-300 people learned this during the conversation between actor Vikrant Massey and director Vidhu Vinod Chopra that took place after the screening of 12th Fail, held on Saturday, February 3, to celebrate its 100 days’ completion. The conversation was full of trivia and entertainment and what added to the fun was that the whole team of the film was present, that is actors Medha Shankr, Anant V Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Vikas Divyakirti and Sarita Joshi, music director Shantanu Moitra, lyricist Swanand Kirkire, co-producer and associate director Yogesh Dhabuwala and many others.

12th Fail 100 days’ celebration: Vidhu Vinod Chopra got into a FIGHT when he was disturbed by loud music while shooting UPSC interview scene: “I told him, ‘Main sar fod dunga tera’; Luckily, meri reputation bahut KHARAB hai”

Manoj Kumar Sharma and Shraddha Joshi Sharma, whose story inspired 12th Fail, also graced the conversation. One of the memorable moments of the evening was when Medha Shankr and Shraddha Joshi Sharma opened up about their experience.

When Yogesh Dhabuwala was given the mic, he narrated, “For the film’s climax, we had shortlisted a few locations in Delhi. Vidhu finalized one location and we paid for it. 7-8 days before the shoot, the DOP saw the room where the interview scene was to take place and complained that ‘Kamra chota hai. Lighting ka problem hai’. I told Vidhu about it. He asked me, ‘Kya karna hai?’. I suggested, ‘Set laga do’. He agreed. Then there’s a scene where Manoj sits in the waiting area. I informed him that woh location bhi gadbad hai. He asked me, ‘Toh kya uska bhi set lagana hai?’. I said, ‘Haan, laga dete hai’. He retorted, ‘So are we going to shoot just the entry and exit shots at the location? Main waise film nahin banata’. He suggested that we see a few more locations.”

Yogesh added, “The next morning, Vidhu was okay with shooting the scene on a set. He reasoned, ‘White House ke scene thodi na asli White House mein shoot karte hai?’. Hence, we built a set which was a replica of the UPSC interview room, tile by tile and inch by inch!” The crowd couldn’t help but applaud at this point.

Yogesh Dhabuwala continued, “We shot it at a plot near Film City. If you reacted to that scene, it’s because of that backdrop, the atmosphere and the way it’s been shot. We only shot there for 1 ½ days. But it’s only because of Mr Chopra. We spent more than Rs. 4 crores on that set alone. If a studio was funding it, they (wouldn’t have been okay with spending so much). Hats off to this guy!”

Vidhu Vinod Chopra then stated, “I would ask Whistling Woods students to write an application to Film City officials that ‘Wahan pe shooting honi chahiye. Wahan pe function nahin hone chahiye’. I’ll also sign it.” The students went into a frenzy as they fully agreed to this suggestion.

Vidhu narrated, “When I was shooting the interview scene, a show began nearby. Luckily, meri reputation bahut kharab hai! We are shooting in sync. Poor Vikrant is mouthing an important dialogue. And suddenly, we hear (loud noise and pomp).”

Vidhu Vinod Chopra didn’t take things lying down, “I stopped the shoot and I told my whole crew to come. 50 of us barged into the location!” Yogesh added, “The security guard stepped back. He was like, ‘Kaun hai yeh gunde log’!”

Vidhu then revealed, “I unplugged (the music system). The producer came forward and said, ‘Yeh gundagardi kar rahe hai aap’. I told him, ‘Main sar fod dunga tera! Yeh Film City hai. Hum yahan cinema banate hai. Yeh kya tum ghatiya kar rahe ho.” As expected, the audience couldn’t stop laughing and applauding VVC’s guts.

Also Read: 12th Fail 100 days’ celebration: Medha Shankr blushes as she’s called ‘National Crush’; Shraddha Joshi Sharma tells her “Ek Shraddha sabhi deserve karte hai!”