Post-Glasgow, Mundhra's terrorism film ran into trouble briefly

Everything seemed to be going smoothly for director Jagmohan Mundhra, his leading man Naseeruddin Shah and the rest of the unit of "Shoot On Sight" until the bomb plot in Britain in June.

Mundhra's unit - some of whose members, like Shah, were Muslims - got a rude shock while shooting in a building near Harrods.

"As a result of the Glasgow incident and the attempted car bombs, London was under high security alert. We were shooting inside a building. Our unit vans manned by Asian Muslim drivers were parked outside on the streets.

"Suddenly the vans were surrounded by hordes of cops. They suspected there were bombs in the vans and demanded that our vehicles be immediately opened up for inspection," said Mundhra.

It was a touch-and-go situation for the crew of Mundhra, who however wrapped up the entire shooting of "Shoot On Sight" in 42 days.

"However, apart from this incident and the fact that our unit had to deal with constant rains, we faced no problems," said Mundhra.

"Ironically, we ended shooting on 07/07/07 -- the second anniversary of the London bombings on which my film is based. It was wonderful working with Shah, Om Puri, Brian Cox, Greta Scachi, Gulshan Grover, Sadie Frost and Laila Rouass," he said.

"Shoot On Sight" was initially offered to Ben Kingsley and then Amitabh Bachchan. When it came to Naseeruddin Shah, he was unsure. Naseer's earlier experience with an international film - "A League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - was disastrous.

"I'm glad Naseer finally said yes. 'Shoot On Sight' will catapult him to international stardom," said Mundhra.

Indo-Asian News Service