A controversy has erupted over permission granted for a 10-day film shooting stint in the JJ Hospital campus at Byculla in Bombay. Some doctors have pointed to a two-decade-old ban on shootings in state government-run hospitals.
The shooting on a courtroom set, erected in the JJ Hospital campus, started on March 11 after permission was granted by the medical education secretary’s office. The production house is being charged rent by the public works department for the shooting in the nursing college and the boys’ common room in the hospital premises.
According to a senior doctor, a high-power panel, led by former director general of health services, Dr. Subhash Salunke, had in 2004 advised against permitting film shootings in government hospitals and colleges. This advice was given after patients were inconvenienced during the shooting of an Amitabh Bachchan starrer at the state-run St. George’s Hospital in Bombay in 2004. A film unit was denied permission to shoot at Cama Hospital a few years later.
A senior Mantralaya official said that the government would today (March 13) review the permission granted to the film crew.