Two snakes, annoyed at their territory being invaded by a noisy Bollywood film shoot, or perhaps eager to get roles in the film themselves, made uninvited guest appearances in director Abhishek Varman’s Kalank that was being shot at Film City on Monday.
Varman was busy directing Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan in their fourth film together when crew members noticed the additional reptilian cast in the scene. Shooting was promptly stopped and the star-struck reptiles were speedily returned to the wooded area in Film City where they belong.

Varman was reportedly unperturbed by the disturbance. He’s experienced this before. It seems in 2012, when Varman was assisting Karan Johar on a similar set in Film City for the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer My Name is Khan, two snakes had turned up to see what the commotion was all about.

The Kalank shoot is a 45-day schedule and after Monday, the team is on extra alert for snakes in the area. The film is a period drama starring Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditya Roy Kapur and Kunal Kemmu besides Varun and Alia. It is produced by Karan Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala and Fox Star Studios.

Kalank made a lot of news before shooting started because it is bringing back to screen Dutt and Madhuri who starred in a number of hit films together in the 1990s and were reportedly a couple. But after the actor’s involvement in the 1993 serial blasts case in Mumbai and his subsequent incarceration in jail, Madhuri is said to distanced herself from her old co-star and friend.

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The actress along with Varun and Alia have already wrapped up some of their scenes in Kalank. The film’s sets at Film City are lavish and have been created by art director Amrita Mahal to resemble the 1940s with the backdrop of Partition.