Mid-Day

In Vishwas Patil’s upcoming film, Kangna Ranaut plays a courtesan. And to pick up pointers on her character and the backdrop on the sets, Patil and dialogue writer Atul Tiwari headed to Pakistan.

A source says, “They visited the famous Heera Mandi in Lahore where there are many kothas.”

Says Patil, “Atul knows some people there and I wanted to recreate some houses and courtesans on my Mumbai sets. We visited Lahore to learn about the language they used in the kothas, the atmosphere and the set-up. We also learnt about different dance forms, especially the adaas which they use in dance.”

The director and his team also visited places in North India to learn more about the kotha culture. Patil adds, “I want everything to look authentic. I have got a good team of composers — Sameer and Dev Kohli, who know Urdu very well.”

Apparently, Kangna even shot for a dance sequence last week and the director thought she did fantastic.

The team however refrained from shooting portions in Pakistan to avoid the security and permission issues.