Ranveer Singh's film shoot at Azad Maidan cancels school matches (Images credit: Instagram) According to a report in the Mumbai Mirror, the Maharashtra government’s Sports Department gave permission to the Hindi film Pralay to shoot at Azad Maidan for six hours. No film has been granted permission before, and because of the Pralay shoot, the schedule of Under-14 and Under-16 interschool cricket matches was disrupted and had to be postponed. The matches had been scheduled way in advance of the film shoot. MCA Apex Council member Nadim Memon told Mumbai Mirror that they have written a letter to the Deputy Director of Sports objecting to the shoot. Memon shared that a large set was erected for the film and artificial grass was laid out on the grounds. He noted that Azad Maidan was not a venue for a film shoot but a ground where players come to practise and hone their skills. Memon added, "Our ongoing tournaments were disrupted because of the shoot. Who will take responsibility for this loss? You cannot commercially exploit a cricket ground by allowing a commercial film shoot.” The report also revealed that the Mumbai-based production house Light Rays was allowed to use 5,000 square yards of government land at Azad Maidan for Pralay. They paid a rental fee of Rs. 40,000 for six hours, at the rate of Rs. 800 per 100 square yards, and were also required to deposit Rs. 40,000 as refundable security. Sports Department Under Secretary Ashok Damayyawar granted permission on October 30 to the Pralay crew to shoot at Azad Maidan. However, there were a few restrictions, as the production team is not allowed to bring any vehicles on the cricket pitch. Furthermore, they cannot cook, dig or carry out any activity that could damage the ground. The team was also asked to get necessary permissions from the police, traffic department and BMC, as well as a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the MCA and submit an undertaking on a Rs 100 stamp paper. Starring Ranveer Singh and Kalyani Priyadarshan, Pralay marks the feature directorial debut of Jai Mehta, who is the son of filmmaker Hansal Mehta. The zombie survival thriller is produced by Ananya Birla's Birla Studios, Hansal Mehta and Sahil Saigal's True Story Films, and Ranveer's banner Maa Kasam Films. Sonal Pandya has grown up on a steady diet of Bollywood and Hollywood musicals, subtitled foreign films and American sitcoms. When not trying to keep ... View More