Qatar tiger issue solved; crew pays hefty fine

A few days ago, the video of a tiger running loose on a highway in Qatar had gone viral on the internet. The tiger was seen casually walking among blocked traffic, after which another video surfaced where it was caught and taken into a car by an Arab. It was later revealed that the tiger was being brought to the set of a Malayalam film, VK Prakash's Marubhoomiyile Aana, when it staged the escape! The crew had refused to talk to us at that point, but now say that they are free of legal hassles and much relieved.
Its producer David Kachappilly confirms that the tiger was brought for the shoot of their film. 'It belonged to an Arab, and was part of the introductory scene of Biju Menon's character, where he steps out of a car with a tiger. It is common for Arabs to have tigers as pets. The tiger escaped from the car during a traffic block, and the authorities got to know about it from the videos which were being spread through social media,' he says. The crew were in deep trouble, expectedly, and three people were arrested by the police in connection with the incident. 'The ones who brought the tiger as well as one of our own crew members were arrested. Luckily, the Arab to whom the tiger belonged to managed to get them released. But we had to pay a hefty fine, 6000 Riyals (approx Rs 1.08 lakh),' says David.
The scene featuring the tiger is very much there in the film, he informs.