In search of the perfect loo

By: Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Films have used unusual locations for their shoots, but this one takes the cake! In the forthcoming film Lage Raho Munnabhai, director Raju Hirani needed a men's loo for a comic scene between Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi. Says Hirani with a wide grin on his face, "I could've easily built a small set, but I thought it's better to actually locate a nice men's loo."

And so the Munnabhai team was sent scouring through the entire city for the "perfect loo". Assistants commented on how funny it felt clicking pictures of various loo's and dealing with the weird glances of people. Laughs Hirani, "My assistants were looked upon as strange people with a strange fetish when they pulled out their cameras to click men's urinals, camodes and bathroom tiles."

Finally, after a long, tiring search, a snazzy blue-n-white tiled loo in a popular suburban Mall was The Chosen One.

Again, the shoot in the loo was a funny and novel experience. As luck would have it, the snazzy loo had automatic flush sensors for every urinal. So every time Sanju and Arshad would give a shot and pass by the urinals, the flush would automatically start.

Recalls Hirani, "At one point, with so many unit members inside the loo, all the flush sensors went berserk and starting flushing simultaneously. We actually had to vacate the loo briefly to stop the urinals from flushing!"