New Delhi: Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker's best known work Lagaan and his new film Mohenjo Daro are both period pieces but they have more in common than just that. Both films - one set in a British Raj-era village, the other in the Ancient Indus Valley - were filmed in Bhuj, Gujarat.
The Mohenjo Daro set was constructed on the land where Lagaan's cricket pitch once stood. Lagaan released in 2001 but when Team Mohenjo Daro arrived to begin filming, what did they find but the cement platform that the cricket pavilion had been built on. It remains, six-odd years later.
The foundation of the cricket pavilion still stands but Bhuj itself has changed in many ways - hotels have sprung up, as has better infrastructure, which meant that this time round, the cast and crew - some 300-strong - did not have to stay in local houses and apartments unlike when Mr Gowariker was filming Lagaan.
Bhuj has been minutely involved in the making of Mohenjo Daro. The Panchayat ensured a smooth shoot, locals helped build the sets and some were cast as extras in the film, specially auditioned by Mr Gowariker.
Shah Rukh Khan's Raees, in which he plays a liquor baron, was also filmed in Bhuj.
Hrithik Roshan, who plays Sarman in Mohenjo Daro, was photographed arriving in Bhuj to begin filming in January.
Debutante Pooja Hegde plays female lead Chaani. The trailer and songs of Mohenjo Daro, which is set in the Indus Valley Civilisation in the year 2016 BCE, has been criticised as being inauthentic. At a press conference, Ashutosh Gowariker asked critics to judge Mohenjo Daro after watching the entire film.
Mohenjo Daro is scheduled to release on August 12, when it will clash with Akshay Kumar's Rustom.
The Mohenjo Daro set was constructed on the land where Lagaan's cricket pitch once stood. Lagaan released in 2001 but when Team Mohenjo Daro arrived to begin filming, what did they find but the cement platform that the cricket pavilion had been built on. It remains, six-odd years later.
Bhuj has been minutely involved in the making of Mohenjo Daro. The Panchayat ensured a smooth shoot, locals helped build the sets and some were cast as extras in the film, specially auditioned by Mr Gowariker.
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Hrithik Roshan, who plays Sarman in Mohenjo Daro, was photographed arriving in Bhuj to begin filming in January.
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Mohenjo Daro is scheduled to release on August 12, when it will clash with Akshay Kumar's Rustom.
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