Pampa shoot trouble: Director Anuraj Manohar says it was a mistake; More people to be questioned

Amid the Pampa shoot issue, director Anuraj Manohar gave his statement to officers at the Plappally Forest Station. Reportedly the director said that the shoot at the Pampa hilltop happened by mistake and also said he was ready to pay the fine. Officers had already gone to the hilltop to look at the place where the filming happened. They wanted to check if any rules were broken on that day.The Forest Department decided they need to talk to more experts as reported by Asianet News and they want to hear from the technical team too. Forest department also told the crew to bring the camera gear. They must show the footage that was taken. Before this, the 'Narivetta' director had said that the president of the Travancore Devaswom Board, K. Jayakumar did not give permission for shooting at Pampa. He also said he had informed S. Sreejith about the filming plan. But the shoot still took place.The area is under the Ranni Forest Division and this happened on Makaravilakku day which is a special day and officers do not give shoot permissions. Because of this, the Forest Department said the rules were broken when the shoot happened on the same day.Reports say that the case was filed at the Plappally Station under the Goodrical Range which is a part of the Ranni division. Officers there wrote down the full complaint and also said filming was done at the Pampa hilltop without approval. They later sent a report to the Ranni Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. For the unversed, anyone who wants to shoot a film in a forest area must get permission first. Reportedly, they must pay Rs 25,000 for each day of shooting. They must also give another Rs 25,000 as a security deposit. After this, the Forest Department gives written permission. Officers said that if these steps had been followed, no case would have been filed. They said the fee and permission are important to protect forest areas. Because the shoot was done on a day when no permission was allowed, the rules were broken. Now the director and his team must face the case and answer all questions.Anuraj Manohar's previous directorial work was the Tovino Thomas starrer 'Narivetta'.