Not many things can upend a schedule like Delhi’s smog. On this occasion, it was enough to make the actor put his foot down during some filming in the NCR for Cocktail 2. With the numbers over 500, he wasn’t having any of it, and the team was left in a lurch to find some kind of solution, re-igniting an old argument over outdoor set safety.
Now a member of the crew has put the story out there and social media is divided. You have some who are with Shahid, and others who think the whole thing was a non-issue. But it makes for a stark point: if you are a filmmaker in the capital, pollution has a way of making your call sheet look different than you planned.
Crew tells the tale of a day put on hold
Sumit Tyagi, the line producer, was open about it on The Shivam Podcast. He put it plainly: when they were in Gurugram’s Cyber City and the AQI was through the roof, Shahid was not in the mood to be outside. He called him 'manmauji‘ – you could say temperamental, or just as he is.
Tyagi says they had to put together 5 or 6 air purifiers in a hurry for him. Only problem is, you don’t usually use those in the open.
The matter of the purifiers
In all honesty, Tyagi said the machines were more of a show of good faith than a real fix. Shahid would have his mask on, only taking it off for the take. Fine as a precaution, but it doesn’t do much for the air around you.
He was at pains to oblige so no one felt slighted, even if the numbers didn’t support it. When you are running out of options, sometimes you have to go with what looks right.
This was the run of play for the crew:
– NCR’s AQI was in the 500s
– We were in the open at Cyber City
– Brought in 5-6 purifiers
– Shahid was behind a mask in between
A temperament we know well
Tyagi doesn’t mince words about the star. He is the type to do as he pleases in the moment and then be done with it, plans be damned.
If that sounds like something you’ve heard before, you’re not alone. Kiara Advani was on Koffee With Karan and told of the time she sat for eight hours on Kabir Singh while they were still haggling over a pair of shoes for Shahid’s part in the next scene.
The reality of a Delhi winter
It is the hard truth of making movies in the NCR in these months. You want to be safe with your masks and filters, but to get a good performance you need the actor unencumbered. Trying to have it both ways can seem a bit of a farce, like putting a room purifier on a windy pavement.
Don’t read it as a case of diva-ism. If you are in production, you plan for the AQI to spike, you have an indoor Plan B, and you have the budget for when the weather turns on you.
On the record: Cocktail 2
For their rom-com, Shahid and the team have been on the ground in some of the most interesting spots, from the streets of Delhi-NCR to Sicily. Kriti Sanon and Rashmika Mandanna have been there too, to give the film some extra oomph.
It is meant to be the spiritual successor to the original with Deepika and Saif. This time around, we follow Kunal and Diya, a couple in a live-in arrangement who are in no rush to tie the knot. A foray to Sicily is where they cross paths with Diya’s old chum, Ally, and she has other ideas about Kunal.
Diya puts him to the test. Ally does her best to put a wedge in the wedding, but in the end, Kunal weds Diya. He was never going to let her go.
The ruckus in Delhi will be forgotten, but the lesson won’t. You can have your European scenery and your local verve, but you can’t get away from a red alert. For us in the audience, it is a side view of how it is made. For the crew, it is a nudge to be ready for what is in the air as much as what is on the page.
