Hansal Mehta reacts to Omar Abdullah’s post criticising the shoot of web show Maharani in J&K assembly | Hindi Movie News – Times of India

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has offered support to individuals criticized by former Jammu and Kashmir minister Omar Abdullah for utilizing the state assembly as a set for the series Maharani. Sharing pictures of Huma Qureshi’s show Maharani, Omar wrote, “The true face of ‘the mother of democracy’, where once elected representatives of the people from all parties, religions, backgrounds & parts of J&K legislated on matters of great importance now actors & extras use it as a set for TV dramas.What a shame that the BJP driven government in J&K has reduced the symbol of democracy, where they once sat & governed, to this sorry state of affairs. They even have a fake CM coming out of an office I was privileged to occupy for 6 years. What an absolute shame!”

Replying to the post Hansal wrote,“Why is it a shame? How is filming of a drama demeaning democracy or the ‘mother of democracy’? Every body on a film set including actors, background actors (called ‘extras’ by you) are all citizens of this country and have every right to work with dignity and deserve respect and understanding- at least from somebody as educated as yourself.”
“In countries around the world, we are given use of public places, government buildings, council halls and the like for shooting. It is because of this unwelcoming attitude that India is considered an unfriendly shooting location and we often prefer shooting abroad. I have great respect for you but this feels very disrespectful, regressive and myopic” he added.
Huma Qureshi played the protagonist in this 2021 series, which also starred Sohum Shah, Amit Sial, Kani Kusruti and Inaamulhaq.