Sanjay Mishra shoots for a political satire in Varanasi

Classrooms of the Department of Visual Arts,

Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith

, recently echoed with lights, camera and action for the film 'Bahut Hua Sammaan' that is being shot in Varanasi these days. Directed by Ashish R Shukla, the film has an ensemble cast comprising of actors like Sanjay Mishra, Ram Kapoor, Raghav Juyal and Nidhi Singh in prominent roles. "The film is an action comedy which is a satire on the politics, in the subtext. The plot of the film has Banaras as the backdrop, where two students in the process of robbing a bank, become heroes. It is a kind of modern day Jaane Bhi Do Yaro. Even the writers of the film have a strong Banaras connections in Avinash Singh and Vijay Narayan Singh, who have penned the story of the film, are alumni of IIT-BHU," reveals the director who's earlier film 'Prague' was an action thriller.

Ram Kapoor shooting for the film at Ramnagar Palace (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)
Ashish, who’s worked as a creative head on the Anurag Kashyap directed film 'Dev D', says, "Unlike other films based on Banaras, this film will have no ghat scene. There is no river shot and I am trying to show that aspect of the city which people have not seen. There is more to Banaras than ghats. Ironically, I am coming exactly after a decade to the city. It was in August 2009 that I came here for a short film, The Journey, featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui. I still remember we had to shoot in the flooded river Ganga which was all swelled up and it was about to rain. The moment we wrapped up, it started to rain heavily," he recollects

Abhishek Chauhan and Raghav Juyal (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)
"Though this time we are not shooting near the flooded river, still the humid weather is a challenge. During our nearly 19-day schedule, we will be shooting in Ramnagar, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Chakia and Chunar on the outskirts of the city," says the director who has his roots in Pratapgarh, near Prayagraj.

Ashish R Shukla (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)

The shoot on at Ramnagar Fort (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)