Kareena's X-mas in Vegas proved to be very expensive for Karan Johar

Though shooting in Vegas at Christmas was an expensive affair, director Shakun Batra and the producer Karan Johar did not want to replicate the vibe in another city, for their next.

The makers of Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol may have passed off Bangkok as India in the pre-climax scene in the film, for the sake of convenience of shooting, not all directors are willing to do so.

And that's exactly what Shakun Batra did, as he shot his debut film Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu at Las Vegas during Christmas and New Year last year. The story featuring Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor is set against the festive backdrop of the casino city.

Not surprisingly, it was initially difficult for the first time director to procure the permissions to shoot there.

A source explains, "Generally, Las Vegas is an expensive place to shoot in. And it's almost out of bounds during Christmas and New Year because that's when the business peaks at the casinos and hotels."

However, the film that shows the lead characters impulsively getting married on Christmas night required to be shot in real locations. So Batra was keen that the location is neither changed nor cheated upon.

Supporting his director's decision, producer Karan Johar agreed to pay the premium charges to get the requisite permissions to shoot. "Never mind if the premium was about 50 percent more than the regular fees. Karan believes that quality and production values should not be compromised, " reiterates our source.

Confirming the premium expenditure on the locations, director Shakun Batra said, "We knew shooting during the festive season would have been expensive.

But recreating a setting like this was going to be impossible. So Karan felt we should go ahead and shoot in Vegas."