Producer turned director Sarika Sanjot shoots for her debut in Varanasi

Banaras, that continues to charm filmmakers, formed the backdrop of a film titled 'Kahani Rubber Band Ki', that was shot in the city recently. The film, that has actors Avika Gor, Manish Raisinghani as the main lead with veterans like Aruna Irani, Paintal in prominent roles, was shot in various parts of the city including Assi Ghat and Nandeshwar ghat.
Aruna Irani preps for her role while shooting for the film Kahani Rubber Band Ki in Varanasi recently (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)
Director Sarika Sanjot, who is making her debut with this film, says picturesque locales of Banaras come out to be really well on screen."During our nearly a month-long schedule we had an amazing time. Apart from the lovely location, Banaras is a very shooting friendly city with the people really very cooperative. I had done a recce of four cities but eventually settled for Banaras and I am happy we did that. The story of the film is based in the city. Apart from known faces of the television world, we have actors like Aruna Irani who is a playing a lawyer in the film and she has several shades to her character. Similarly, Paintal will be seen in the character of a judge in the film," adds Sarika.
Shoot location in Varanasi (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)
Sarika who had come to Varanasi much ahead of the shoot says, "We had done a lot of research about the city and its lifestyle. In order to make the characters of the film appear more local, we had gone to the extent of even styling them accordingly. We had bought all clothes for them from Banaras after researching on the kind of prints, colours preferred by people here."
Hemang Dave and Minakshi Sethi (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)
Ace cinematographer Farooq Mistry, who has been here earlier for his film Angrezi Mein Kehate Hain, says, "Banaras is visually stunning. The temples, ghats, havelis, lanes all look beautiful on screen. Even the chaos versus organisation, which the city is an example of, has a charm of its own. The city has its own texture as well which is really appealing. Even though I shot at a rather similar location for my last film, every time it looks different, which is the beauty of the place."
Cinematographer Farooq Mistry (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)
(L) Amit Thakur (R) Manish Raisinghan (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)