B-Town filmmakers clamping down on use of mobile phones on sets

'Bang Bang', Ram Leela', 'The Dirty Picture' and 'Happy New Year'

If sources are to be believed, mobile phones have been banned on the sets of Siddharth Raj Anand's film, 'Bang Bang', that stars Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif. This has been done in a bid to avoid photographs from leaking out; some pictures from the film had leaked out earlier. In fact, recently when the cast was shooting in Mumbai, some images were doing the rounds, as this was an outdoor shoot in the city.

Katrina Kaif and Hrithik Roshan in a still from the film, 'Bang Bang'

Now, the director has asked the production house to provide extra security on the sets of the film in UAE. "Around 30 extra security men have been deployed on the sets; they are also ensuring that the cast and crew don't use mobile phones. Anyone entering the set has to first deposit the cell phone or camera and he / she can collect it on the way out," says a source.

The source adds, "The director is shooting some crucial action sequences in the UAE and a lot of it will be shown in the trailer. So in order to avoid pictures from leaking out, he has taken precautionary measures."

Anand and Fox Studios, the film's producers, were unavailable for comment.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that a filmmaker has acted on his paranoia in such a manner. Several filmmakers have had similar concerns and they have tackled their problems in the same fashion. hitlist takes a look at a few such instances...

'Happy New Year' (currently being filmed)
Filmmaker: Farah Khan
The lowdown: Farah Khan made it mandatory for her crew to not use mobile phones on the sets of the film.

From left: Farah Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone on the sets of 'Happy New Year'

0It is said that she took this step after realising that some pictures from the sets of the film had made it to the internet.

'Ram Leela' (2013)
Filmmaker: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
The lowdown: Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known to be a taskmaster and he has reiterated this time and again.

Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in Ram Leela

After images from the sets of his film, Ram Leela, were leaked online, the furious filmmaker forbade his cast and crew from using mobile phones on the film sets. The entire unit, including lead actors, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, were asked to not use their mobiles while shooting.

'Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Dobaara' (2013)
Filmmakers: Milan Luthria
The lowdown: The makers of the sequel to Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai apparently employed a security agency in Oman to prevent the leaking out of the first look of cast members, Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha.

Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan in 'Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Dobaara'

Director Milan Luthria had then said, "We spent a lot of time and effort to come up with these distinct looks for all our actors. I am getting a bit paranoid about protecting the exclusivity."

'Agneepath' (2012)
Filmmaker: Siddharth Malhotra
The lowdown: Here, Karan Johar tried hard to keep every character's role under wraps, but he couldn't succeed in doing so.

Hrithik Roshan's ‘Vijay Dinanath Chauhan' look was revealed much before he wanted it out and after that the producer had no choice but to ban the use of cameras and cell phones on the sets.

'The Dirty Picture' (2011)
Filmmaker: Milan Luthria
The lowdown: Ekta had banned the use of cell phone on the sets of the film right from the first day.

Naseeruddin Shah and Vidya Balan in 'The Dirty Picture'

She had said, "We keep hearing about incidents where looks are revealed to the public much before time and I don't want that for my film. I want to unveil every look in a proper way and at the right time."

'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' (2012)
Filmmaker: Yash Chopra
The lowdown: Yash Raj Films had reportedly banned the use of mobile phones on the set of this film that starred Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif.

Anushka Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan in 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'

The production company decided to take this measure after images and video content from the film's shoot got leaked during the film's UK schedule in March 2012.
(With inputs from Shikha Shetty)