Campa Cola residents claim Ekta Kapoor's Home should've been run past them

Ekta Kapoor

Karan Sethia, one of the residents of Worli's Campa Cola housing society, claims the promos of Ekta Kapoor's latest offering, Home, came as a rude shock to him. As the web series - which revolves around the residents of a housing society who are forced to vacate their flats after their building is deemed an illegal construction - gears up for release over the weekend, Sethia says that the makers should have sought the residents' approval, considering the show borrows from the real-life controversy.

"We had no idea about the show. We should have been involved during the making because it is an ongoing case, we can't afford to have the facts misrepresented," says Sethia, adding that the show's writer Neeraj Udhwani had reached out to him in 2016 to discuss the possibility of adapting the episode for the screen. "We took two meetings with him. I offered to put him through to other residents for research. But, he abruptly disappeared. We never gave him an approval."

File photo of Campa Cola residents

Sethia says legal recourse against Kapoor is his last resort. "If the show depicts our fight, great. If there's any miscommunication about what we stood for, we may seek legal options." When mid-day reached out to Udhwani, he claimed that the show reflects a problem that is rampant across India.

"Home is not based on the Campa Cola case. I met a few residents of the buildings, but they were hesitant to share their stories. So I didn't pursue them further. There are many other societies facing similar issues and the show is loosely based on them."

A still from Home

Though director Habib Faisal had previously stated that his venture was inspired by the spirit of the Campa Cola case, Nimisha Pandey, head of content, ALTBalaji, said, "Though the situation is inspired from true events, it is not based on any real life story." The Campa Cola compound found itself mired in controversy after the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of 35 illegal floors housing around 100 flats.

Neeraj Udhwani

Also Read: Ekta Kapoor shares a heart touching monologue by Jeetendra for Home!

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