Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 19, 2018)

When on an outdoor shoot, almost every producer digs deep into his pocket as he sponsors his lead actors’ stay at presidential suites of five-star hotels for the duration. But for their upcoming film, Batti Gul Meter Chalu, Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor have ditched the luxury of five stars, instead opting for homestays in Tehri, Uttarakhand, where the film is currently being shot. A unit hand reveals that the cast and crew, including Shahid, Shraddha and director Shree Narayan Singh, are currently staying in 10 houses that had been chosen by the producers ahead of the shoot.

The source says, “The producers toyed with the idea of five-star stay initially, but realised that the closest ones are in Dehradun. The conveyance would have been a hassle since the location is a three-hour-plus drive from Dehradun. That’s when Shahid and the producers decided to opt for homestay. When they suggested the idea to Shraddha, she instantly agreed.”

Besides it being a practical option, Shahid also felt that a homestay would prove to be insightful for his Uttarakhand-based lawyer act in the drama about power theft. “Shahid opined that staying close to the locals would help Shraddha and him pick up their dialect, which would lend an air of authenticity to their characters.”

It may be recalled that Shahid had shot in a similar set-up for Rangoon (2017) — since the crew was filming in a remote location of Arunachal Pradesh, the stars stayed in makeshift cottages during the three-week schedule.