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on 2007/5/4 0:29:35
Art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai has a lot to answer for - specially to filmmaker Mira Nair.
Ever since he opened his sprawling hi-tech film studio in Karjat on the outskirts of Mumbai, the chopper has become the favourite medium of transport for the time-challenged film industry.
Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan were constantly flying in and out of Karjat and Mumbai while shooting for " Ram Gopal Varma's Sholay". Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai flew almost daily for Ashutosh Gowariker's "Jodha-Akbar".
But Mira Nair's experience gives you the jitters.
" Nitin is a very dear friend. So when he invited me to Karjat to see his studio during my last visit, I gladly agreed. People suggested I take a chopper to save time and I agreed. The ride was smooth enough till we reached Karjat. That's when things got choppy," said Nair with a shiver.
"The pilot didn't know where to land. He kept circling over Karjat for an hour. I kept getting calls from Nitin saying, 'Come down, we can see you'. But our pilot had no clue. Finally, in a very irritated voice, he announced, 'Madame, we're running out of fuel.' So we headed back to Mumbai while I prayed to all my gods for a safe landing."
Looking back, Nair can afford to laugh about the incident. The larger question is: Is it safe for people from the film industry to take chopper flights to places where there are no proper landing facilities?
