Mahie Gill, Tigmanshu Dhulia, cast and crew of web series Fixer claim they were attacked during shoot as cops watched

In a video that filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia shared on Twitter, Actor Mahie Gill, alongwith the cast and crew members of a web series titled Fixer, are seen claiming that they were attacked by a group of men on sets and the cops allegedly refused to help them. Tigmanshu is also part of the web series.

Sharing the video, Tigmanshu tweeted, “I was there when it happened on the sets of fixer at Mira road drunk goons thrashed our unit Santosh thundiyal cameraman got six stitches. Pathetic.”

Dhulia told IANS in a statement, “Four to five drunk men walked in with sticks and started beating up crew members. At first I thought people are just having fun, but soon after a few seconds I realised that it was serious. I saw our cameraman bleeding, director on the ground... It was mayhem.”

The filmmaker conjectured the men were from a rival group who also control the area, though the production had proper permission and had paid the location fee.

He pointed out the director of photography had to get stitches on his forehead, while the show’s director suffered a shoulder dislocation. Mahie said she escaped the attack as she ran and sat in a car. “For the first time I have seen something like that,” she added.The shoot was going on at a factory in Mira Road in Thane district. Saawhney said in the video: “We have valid permissions, and had paid the necessary fee to the location manager. We had been shooting since 7 a.m., and suddenly around 4-4:30 p.m., some four drunk people came with sticks and rods and they started beating our artistes and technicians. They said this was their location and without their permission we cannot shoot here. There was no scope for dialogue or discussion. They handled our women badly, they manhandled our artistes.”

The matter was not reported to the police. The crew said the in the video that they fear cops will not cooperate or help them, hence it is “conscious decision” to not file a police complaint in the matter.

Expressing shock at the incident, Dhulia told IANS: “This kind of act in Mumbai where we make films is unheard of. Shooting in Mumbai is troublesome, that is why I always move out of this city for my projects.”

Ekta Kapoor, who heads streaming platform ALTBalaji, condemned the incident in a tweet: “Very very sad! Violence on sets of Fixer.”