It’s a first of sorts for Bollywood and Puneet Issar can afford to feel proud. His film ‘I Am Singh’ is the first Bollywood film to have got permission to shoot at Ground Zero in New York. The site of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Centre attacks was a site that the US authorities were unwilling to give for shooting. It took Puneet a year to convince them. “Yes, we are allowed to shoot there now. Eighty percent of the film is shot in America. We kept putting up our case to the concerned department.
Finally, the authorities gave their nod,” said Issar, whose film is based on the issue of mistaken identity of Sikhs in America post 9/11. A source from the unit said convincing American authorities wasn’t easy, as they thought the film would portray a negative image of the country. Even the American crew hired for the project was apprehensive. They needed clarification as to what we were making.
