Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra shoots for Mere Pyaare Prime Minister at Mumbai railway station

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra was walking around Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus area. The filmmaker was dressed in a white shirt and shorts and looked like he was on a casual stroll. However, according to a Times of India report, Mehra was actually shooting for his upcoming film Mere Pyaare Prime Minister.

The protagonist Kanhaiya, (played by Om) is a boy who sells newspapers and other articles at the traffic signal for a living. Mehra wanted to get authentic shots of the child going about his daily activities, which is why he asked Om to sell newspapers for real. A hidden camera was capturing all the action as Om went about selling the newspapers to real people.

The film is centered on Kanhaiya, also known as Kanu, who wants to get a toilet constructed for his mother, who raises him single-handedly. The mother is played is award-winning actress Anjali Patil. Mehra found the lead actors of his film while on a recce in the slums of the city.

To make the film as realistic as possible, Mehra has been shooting in the shoddy slums of the city. the team had started shooting in a slum near Ghatkopar and eventually moved to another slum in Powai.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s last project was the 2016 release Mirzya.