Old Bombay to be recreated in Sri Lanka for shoot of Bombay Velvet

The other day we reported that Fox Star Studios, India has teamed up with Phantom Films to produce Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet. The film, that stars Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, is expected to go on the floors in July. But surprisingly, the film will be shot in Sri Lanka. And the reason is that the skyline of the island city has changed over the decades and the upcoming monsoon could affect the shoot. Unlike Mumbai, that has its monsoon from mid-June to mid-September, the weather in Sri Lanka during that time is comparatively dry. According to a source, four acres have been marked off near Colombo where art director Sonal Sawant will put up sets to recreate old Bombay. And can you believe! it's going to cost the producers approximately Rs 22 crore to recreate the Bombay of the 1950s through '70s, the period in which the story is set. The source argues that it would have been more expensive to build the sets here in Mumbai. Moreover, the extensive permissions will take about a month to get plus a month and a half only to get the sets built. Managing the BMC, police and other organisations would have also added to the costs. “We might as well spend the extra amount on travel and accommodation in Sri Lanka," adds the source.