Debutant director Ajay Monga forced a little boy to shoot for 22 hours at a stretch, sprinkled water on his face whenever he dozed off By Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 07, 2010)

For someone who has written two of Madhur Bhandarkar’s critically acclaimed films (Corporate and Fashion), Ajay Monga definitely had set his sights high for his directorial debut Padduram.

The film required a child actor but Monga, who wanted Darsheel Safary to play the lead, quickly changed his mind after the Taare Zameen Par star demanded an astronomical fee – over Rs 1 crore. He finally settled for 11-year-old Shubham Kataria, signing him for a paltry Rs 1 lakh.

// // // But while Monga made a substantial saving, it was the beginning of a traumatic experience for the little boy. Shubham was made to shoot for 22 hours hours at a stretch, from 6 am to 4 am the next day. His mother, Dimple Kataria, who accompanied him for the shoot in Indore, was shocked at the way he was being pushed but took it in her stride the first time. But the very next day, Monga again didn’t pack-up on time.

Unable to bear the way her son was being treated, Dimple had a massive showdown with Monga and even asked him point blank whether he would’ve dared to treat Darsheel so shabbily. In a fit of rage she stormed off the sets, taking Shubham with her to the hotel. Recounts the anguished mother, “The worst part was that every time I told Monga to pack-up, he would say ‘Bas, 15 minutes aur’. My son More >