When Arjun Rampal was threatened while shooting for Daddy

When you make a film on gangster Arun Gawli, you ought to be prepared to shoot across some of the shadiest, dirtiest lanes of Mumbai. However, shooting in a rival gangster’s area requires more courage. Director Ashim Ahluwalia and actor Arjun Rampal were more than happy to take the plunge but they didn't expect death threats.

The makers of Daddy shot in Nagpada, that used to be the stronghold of noted underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The Daddy team had a tough time, with one of the locals even threatening to kill Rampal.

In a new video on the making of the film, the cast and crew of Daddy talk about their unusual experiences while shooting on the streets where gansters once walked.

“Am in the middle of Kamathipura, It’s Eid with 10,000 people. There is a real gangster down, shouting calling Arjun down and saying, ‘Main kaat daalega tereko’ (I’ll hack you),” Ahluwalia says unflinchingly.

While the rest of the team were scared and almost angry on the choice of locations, Ahluwalia says that an atmostphere of crime cannot be created on a set. “For me locations are .. that is where a film lives. You can’t recreate the atmosphere of crime on a set. Part of my love for locations and difficult locations is also to put the actors and the crew through a certain degree of struggle,” Ahluwalia said.

Rampal had to face both the fans and the foes as he played Gawli. “It was ridiculous. There are so many places that I didn’t even know existed in Mumbai, which I got to see through this film. All the locations that Ashim wanted were the most difficult, production heavy, very very impractical locations to go to shoot in. When you are taking an Arun Gawli into Nagpada, which is Dawood’s area to shoot. It’s not going to be easy,” said Rampal.

If that wasn’t troubling enough, Rampal had faced his worst fear when he had to pick up a dead rat that fell on the sets while shooting. 

“If there is one thing that I hate in my life are rats. I don’t know how he (Ahluwalia) convinced me but I’ve landed up going out there, had some big fight with people out there.” the Daddy actor quipped. 

The film is set to be released on 8 September. 

Watch the second part of the behind the scenes story of Daddy.