'Ek Thi Daayan' team visits Lucknow

The team of Ek Thi Daayan, comprising producer Ekta Kapoor, actors Emraan Hashmi and Huma Qureshi reached Lucknow in the afternoon yesterday and were greeted by band and baaja at the airport. Girls dressed as daayans, with white make-up and long plaits welcomed the trio, in keeping with the theme of the movie. A huge crowd surrounded the celebs who had difficulty reaching their vehicle.
The stars then headed to a college on the outskirts of the city where an interaction with students was planned on whether daayans are for real. A pandit even explained who daayans were.
On her first ever visit to the city, Ekta wished she could have stayed in Lucknow for a couple of more days. Excited about gong to the Kumbh Mela, she said, “It’s the largest ever religious congregation in the world which happens once in so many years. And since my movie deals with the occult and supernatural things, I thought this would be the best opportunity to seek blessings for the film as well as my own self.”
When asked if she believed in supernatural things, she was quick to reply. “Of course. I have made several serials on this theme and this movie too speaks for my belief in them. We can’t completely ignore such things. Hota toh kuchch zaroor hai.”
She further added, “I have read reports in the morning today about the administration not giving us permission to hold any activity there but all I have to say is, that I'm going ahead with the plan, I’m taking everyone myself. At my own expense. I have not sought any help from the government or the administration. We have made arrangements for our security. Also, I don’t need to seek permission from the government or anybody to visit a temple. I’m a religious person and so, I’m going to the Kumbh, like anyone else would. If they have any problems, I’ll meet the commissioner and talk to to him to sort things out. Otherwise they can lock us up in jail and we’ll only hope that the food there is as good as what we’ve had in Lucknow.”
Emraan on the other hand, was rather sceptical about the whole thing and said, “I am somewhere in between when it comes to believing in ghosts and daayans, but I would say a daayan is the extreme negative side of a woman, who is otherwise a very caring and loving being. So, you could say I have seen both sides of a woman, in real life.”
He too was excited about going for the Kumbh and said, “I have never been to any Kumbh and when Ekta suggested we go, I was like, let’s go NOW. The whole world is talking about it and it’s such a blend of so many religions and culture, I’m sure it’ll be a very enriching experience.” Although he won’t be taking a dip in the Sangam, he would be participating in all pujas and activities.
Huma, was the quiet one, busy on her phone mostly and said that she'll follow whatever Ekta and Emraan did at the Kumbh. Having visited Lucknow just a couple of weeks ago, Huma said she was now looking forward to coming to the city for a longer time to shoot for Abhishek Chaubey’s Dedh Ishqiya. “I have just signed the film. It’s a huge project for me, but that's all I can tell you about it right now.”