'Disco Valley'overcomes pig problem

Mumbai, Aug 8 (IANS) The producer of "Disco Valley" faced a pig crisis. He wanted to hire a trained pig and transport it from Australia to Fiji for the movie, but this would have cost him more than the film's entire budget. The Fijian prime minister stepped in and offered a local pig and a dog trainer. Now, the actors are a tad upset over all the attention to the animal.

The pig has a key role in the romantic comedy "Disco Valley", which features Rajat Barmecha, Manjot Singh and Shazahn Padamsee.

Since having a trained pig flown from Australia to Fiji, where the film will be shot, was costing way beyond expected, producer Siddharth Jain sought help from Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.

"When we decided to make a pig a pivotal character, we never realised it would be so expensive. More than the cost of hiring a pig, maintaining it everyday was too expensive. So instead of hiring the pig, we decided to buy it outright and get a pig trainer," said Jain.

But then began the next stretch of problems.

"We wanted a small cute pig. So we paid the price of an oversized pig for a small one. Then we realised that the pig was temperamental. So we hired two identical pigs, so that if one was not the mood at the time of the shot the other one could can step in," he added.

However, the producer is grateful to Bainimarama for offering help.

"He suggested we use local pigs instead of bringing them from Australia. We couldn't get a pig trainer, so we now have a dog trainer looking after the pigs."

This excessive attention to the pigs is said to have not gone down too well with the actors in "Diso Valley". Rajat and Manjot have reportedly made their displeasure very clear to the producer.

But Jain says "It can't be helped."

According to the film's script, the pig is required to accompany the main human characters everywhere. Click the Movie button below for more info:
Disco Valley