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Shubha Raul courts controversy for allegedly allowing film shoot inside her bungalow, a heritage structure, without requisite permission

On September 5 and 6, Mayor Shubha Raul's 83-year-old, sea-facing bungalow at Shivaji Park, was used for a Marathi film shoot.

The shooting made history the first film to be shot at the heritage bungalow and outraged the BMC.

Consent needed

The bungalow, being a heritage structure, requires the consent of the local ward officer before it is rented out for commercial purposes.
 

House That: According to sources, Mahesh Manjrekar shot a scene inside the bungalow on September 5 and 6.

N V Pai, assistant commissioner, G north ward (Shivaji Park) said, "I wasn't aware of the shooting till someone from the unit informed me of it on September 5. Permission has to be taken from the BMC before erecting a set and it wasn't done."

According to sources, Manjrekar shot a scene depicting a chief minister inside the bungalow. Raul however was away on a foreign trip.

Ideally, Manjrekar was supposed to take permission from the BMC for the shoot, but had allegedly failed to do so. Raul, said sources, becomes inadvertently involved because it's her house.

A source from the mayor's office said, "The bungalow has been used earlier for shooting an ad film without the ward officer's knowledge.

There have been many complaints about Raul's highhandedness when it comes to following protocol."

Dinesh Afzalpurkar, chairperson, Heritage Committee said, "It's fine to shoot at heritage structures as long as there is no damage."

Despite repeated attempts, Manjrekar remained unavailable for comment.

The Other Side

Mayor Shubha Raul told MiD DAY, "A Marathi movie by Mahesh Manjrekar as well as an Asha Bhosle interview were shot inside the bungalow after taking permission from the G north ward  officer.

In fact, some ward officers were present during the shoot and if I get permission, I will allow more shoots inside the bungalow."