Maharashtra drought: 'Jagga Jasoos' team shoots 12-hour rain sequence amid water crisis; 'Banjo' cancels Ganesha immersion scene

At a time when Maharashtra is reeling under acute water crisis, the makers of Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif starrer "Jagga Jasoos" reportedly shot a 12-hour rain sequence in Mumbai on Sunday, using two water tankers.

In the sequence, Ranbir and Katrina had to get drenched run on the streets, searching for a shelter. "It was a hot, sunny day in Mumbai and there were two tankers on the set. Water from them gushed out through pipes to bring on the artificial rain. One pipe splashed water on the road to create monsoon puddles," Mumbai Mirror quoted a source as saying.

The report also added that the "Jagga Jasoos" team was very happy to finish the rain sequence successfully. However, the question that needs to be addressed here is whether the makers went too far by wasting such a massive amount of water on a movie sequence when the entire state is facing severe drought.

On the other side, the makers of Riteish Deshmukh and Nargis Fakhri starrer "Banjo" were supposed to shoot a Ganesh idol immersion sequence, but they later cancelled that part due to the water crisis in the state. "The sequence had Riteish immersing the Ganesh idol but for that we would have had to waste water. Being responsible citizens, and understanding the seriousness of the water crisis in the state, we opted for dhol and dance instead, to create a festive revelry without compromising the look or feel," Krishika Lulla, producer of "Banjo," said, according to the daily.

The drought situation has hit the farmers of Maharashtra hard. As many as 27, 723 villages of the 43,000 villages in the state have been declared drought-hit, while 54 of the 75 medium dams have dried up, according to the Times of India.

Considering the seriousness of the issue, several Bollywood stars have stepped up to help the victims of this chronic crisis. After Nana Patekar donated to help the drought-hit families of Maharashtra, Akshay Kumar recently gave Rs. 50 lakh to the state government's water conservation scheme "Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyaan." Other stars like Aamir Khan and Riteish Deshmukh have also extended a helping hand during this time of crisis.