Weeks after Tunisha Sharma's death, Ali Baba team resumes shoot on same set; cast member says 'it’s very difficult'

Less than a month after actress Tunisha Sharma died on the sets of her show Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul, the cast and crew of the show have returned to the location. The shoot of the show had been shifted out of that particular set after Tunisha’s death on December 24. But on Monday, the team returned after performing a puja there. However, cast members have said they are finding it difficult to cope.

Tunisha, who played the female lead on the show, was found hanging in her makeup room on Christmas Eve. The police have ruled it a suicide. Her ex-boyfriend and the show’s lead actor Sheezan Khan was arrested on charges of abetment and has been in judicial custody since. Sheezan has since been replaced by Abhishek Nigam as Ali Baba with a new promo confirming the recasting.

On Monday, the cast and the crew returned to the set in Vasai after shooting in a different set in Naigaon for three weeks. Sayantani Ghosh, who plays the antagonist, Simsim, told Bombay Times, “Honestly, I wasn’t prepared. We got to know about the shoot resuming on the set just the previous night. It’s very difficult to cope with what has happened. There are contrasting feelings and emotions. All of us miss Tunisha. I understand that returning to the old set was required because the show was suffering. Though the producers tried to extend the stay as much as they could, the scenes now required us to be back here.”

The actress also informed that the shoot resumed after a pooja on the sets. The makeup rooms of Tunisha and Sheezan have been cordoned off and will not be used. The set has also been freshly painted. Sayantani said she is finding it hard to shoot given Tunisha’s memories in the place. “I have memories of Tunisha who would come to my room to greet and hug me. I have a beautiful wall in my make-up room and Tunisha and I had planned to make reels against it, which unfortunately never happened. These little things keep coming to my mind,” she added.

Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul makers have said that the hunt for a new actress is on but Tunisha’s character will not be recast. They are now focusing on bringing in a new character as the female lead opposite Abhishek Nigam.