MNS complaints for illegal film shooting in Thane hosp

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has filed a written complaint to the Vartak Nagar Police station alleging that a film shooting was held in Lokmanya Tilak Hospital, Thane without completing legal procedures.

They said that the authorities are trying to cover up the issue because the production house is owned by local Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik’s Vihang group of companies. PSI Santosh Kulkarni said that he has received the application and it will be investigated soon.

Vihang Production is producing its first film ‘Dahi Kala’ which is directed by well-known Marathi singer-composer-director Avdhoot Gupte. According to Rajendra Kamble, MNS shakha pramukh (of ward number 16), “On Sunday, 15th May shooting was started at the hospital with 150 members crew. The lunch was cooked at the ground floor with cylinder gas, which could have led to an accident since the safety and legal procedures were not followed.”

“This hospital is constructed in 2007 which has capacity of 60 beds and art of state of the art facilities and best infrastructure but since nine years Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) is not using this hospital full-fledged when patients from locality need it desperately. Only OPD is run by the TMC. We demand that instead of making it a shooting spot, TMC should immediately start hospital , moreover we have written to the Municipal Commissioner to conduct an inquiry in the trespassing by the production team in the hospital,” Kamble added,

When contacted TMC chief medical officer Dr Ramrao Kendre accepted that on Sunday a written permission was not given.

Dr Kendre told Mumbai Mirror, “Medical officer Dr Rani Shinde has verbally given the permission for the shooting at the hospital to the production team. We have charged Rs 25,124 to them. This is the first time we have given this hospital for shooting. We thought if we are getting revenue why not allow the cinema shooting here?” But when asked why the hospital is unused for so many years when the building is ready? He answered, “There are various reasons mainly we were short of the manpower since the posts were not sanctioned by state government. Recently few posts are sanctioned and we are in process of hiring the staff, so in coming time we would be able to start the hospital for patients. Currently we are seeing around 200 patients every day in OPD, But on Sunday the OPD was closed so we decided to allow cinema shooting here,” he defended.

Purvesh Sarnaik, Director of Vihang Production told Mumbai Mirror, “We had applied on Friday but since there was a weekend Dr Kendre ensured the verbal permission. We have paid the bill . We have not breached any rule. So called complainants wanted to blackmail the team and were demanding money to continue the shooting, when we told them that we had all permissions they created a scene.” Purvesh claimed that, “During shooting we did not use any of the property of the hospital and only outer lobby and the gate was used for the shooting.”
However, Kamble refuted the allegations made by Purvesh and said since we have exposed how local MLA is using his power and misusing public property; they want to save their skin with false allegations against MNS. “Would any other producer or common man will get such verbal permission on weekend?” he asked.