Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu and other crew members from the film Cheeni Kum were in for a rude shock when they were denied entry to a posh shopping mall in Gurgaon on the outskirts of New Delhi. The shooting did not take place on April 28 as planned.

The Malibu Town Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) in charge of the mall claim that no prior permission was sought which is why they had to say no to even a superstar like Amitabh Bachchan. The mall is regularly let out to film units and there was no reason why the Cheeni Kum unit was denied entry. They claim though the permission was sought, it was not through proper channel and last minute with no prior notice.

The RWA even offered to have an emergency general body meeting to seek permission for the shoot. But the unit was not willing to relent and refused to seek a written permission as is mandatory for all film units seeking to shoot in the facility, claims RWA.

Incidentally, Sunil Manchanda, the producer of the film, claims to have taken prior permission for shooting from the builders — Malibu Towne Estate Ltd (MTEL). So it is more of a battle of egos between MTEL and RWA. The unit, instead of wasting time, moved to another location in Delhi and completed the day’s schedule before flying back to Mumbai.