The shooting of Kathryn Bigelow’s film on Osama bin Laden, depicting the Al Qaeda leader’s killing in Abbottabad last year, was stalled here Friday by VHP activists who objected to the hoisting of Pakistani flags.
The film crew was forced to cancel the shoot and move the cameras away after shooting a few scenes at Manimajra town, on Chandigarh’s outskirts. VHP activists led by Vijay Singh Bhardwaj disrupted the shoot, removing some signboards put in Urdu on a few shops, a crew member said, adding that cameramen were also pushed and abused.
The VHP men raised slogans against Pakistan, removing its flags put up to recreate the actual spot in Abbotabad where US commandos killed the Al Qaeda chief in a helicopter raid on May 2, 2011.
“They are showing Chandigarh as Pakistan, this is not acceptable... Why should any place in India be converted to look like Pakistan? We will never allow Pakistani flags at shooting locations,” the VHP leader said.
After the melee, the VHP men went to the police station to register a formal complaint against the film director. The Oscar-winning director later said no Pakistani flags will be put up in the shooting locales. The police also assured the VHP men that Pakistani flags won’t be permitted at these places, after which they dispersed. No case was registered. The film’s title is a closely-guarded secret, but it is being referred to as Zero Dark 30.