Crew says they spotted a headless apparition while shooting at Chomu Palace (ooo, we’re so scared)

After Priyadarshan decided to remake his Malayalam film Manichithrathazhu (1983) in Hindi as Bhool Bhulaiya, he shot a major portion of the film at Chomu Palace in Jodhpur. However, unit members report that far from being awed by the grandeur of the royal retreat, they were constantly living in a state of paranoia while shooting.

The reason? The palace is rumoured to be haunted and they’ve been witness to paranormal activity there. Interestingly, Bhool Bhulaiya’s storyline too deals with supernatural incidents. Are these ‘paranormal activities’ a mere coincidence or just smart marketing? We’ll let you decide!

Scary story

A source from the unit reveals, “The palace would be very peaceful while we were shooting. However, the minute the cast and technicians would leave, the unit members left behind to wind up would feel the presence of a spirit (oooh, we’re so scared!). Initially, we thought it was the wind that was making strange sounds in the palace. Later, we realised there was more to the palace than what meets the eye.”

Produced by T-Series, the film stars Akshay Kumar, Shiney Ahuja, Vidya Balan, Amisha Patel and Rajpal Yadav. The film was shot for 25 days at Chomu Palace and locals there narrated scary stories to the unit.

Says Priyadarshan, “The locals told us that the king of Chomu Palace was beheaded in a war and his horse brought his body back to the palace. He was later cremated on the palace grounds. I think the story had some impact on the unit members and they got scared. Personally, I don’t believe in ghosts and supernatural activities.”

His unit believes otherwise. Apparently, some members actually saw an apparition of the beheaded king on the third floor of the palace while winding up the day’s shoot! Ah well. Maybe he wanted to get some fresh
air, no?

- Mid-Day