That's director Tigmanshu Dhulia's solution to the bee sting marks on actors Mahie Gill and Randeep Hooda's necks from shooting in a bee-infested haveli
The team of Tigmanshu Dhulia's Sahib Bibi Aur Gangster is in a stinging position. The haveli in Baria, Gujarat, where the film is being shot, is infested with beehives.
Groans Dhulia, "We look like a mess. Some of the actors have swollen faces and lips. These will obviously show on camera, more so since we're using a very sophisticated camera, the Alexa, for the first time in Indian cinema."
Short of time, Dhulia hit upon a novel idea to camouflage the bee-utiful faces of his actors. He has turned those red swollen welters on Mahie Gill and Randeep Hooda into love bites in the script.
Laughs Dhulia, "Those swellings had to be justified. They play lovers on the run. Their passion borders on mutual destruction. I wanted the lovemaking to be extremely violent, almost like two people making war on society by making violent love on screen."
He adds, "I've shown Randeep and Mahie go further in their love-making than any Indian film so far. I'd have gone even further if I thought the censor board would allow it."
"The haveli that we are shooting in is colonised by bee-hives. They haven't taken kindly to the shooting in their territory," he concludes.
