Calcutta of 1980s recreated for `Gunday`

New Delhi: The Kolkata schedule of Yash Raj Films` ‘Gunday’ is in full swing, and the team successfully recreated Calcutta of the 1980s for a dramatic Durga Puja sequence under the Howrah Bridge.

The shoot, featuring Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor, attracted a crowd of over 1,000 ecstatic and overjoyed people, said a statement from the production banner. The crowd could be heard chanting slogans – ‘Joy Bikram! Joy Bala!’ - for Ranveer and Arjun, who play Bikram and Bala, respectively, in the film. The pandal looked like one from old Kolkata, and around Rs.50 lakh to Rs.60 lakh is said to have been spent to get the 1980s look right for the film, said a source. "There has been lot of planning behind this. This sequence is a very, very important part of the film. One of the oldest professionals were hired to create this look of the pandal and they did complete justice. It just did not look like a set, but a real Durga Puja in Calcutta," the source added. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Aditya Chopra, the film also features Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan in key roles. The story is set in Calcutta`s most unsettled times, and about two inseparable friends - Bikram and Bala - who grow from being small time, inconsequential wagon breakers and coal thieves, to becoming the biggest and most powerful black marketing mafia-men. IANS