Deepti visits Holy Land

She has been doing her travel shows for years, but never before has Deepti Bhatnagar sounded so excited about a place she visited.

"It was an out of the world experience, something that was much more than a mere journey!"

Bhatnagar is referring to her recent trip to Israel, where she went to shoot her travel show, Musafir Hoon Yaaron. The actress traced the journey of Christ — from his birthplace in Bethlehem to his crucifixion in Jerusalem.

Tough part

"It wasn't easy doing this trip, for two reasons," she says. "Firstly, getting permission to shoot at some locations was nearly impossible. These are some of the most sensitive regions in the world. Secondly, the place is like a war zone. The Palestine conflict has been on for years, so it isn't exactly peaceful in that part of the world."

Among some of the areas she visited with her crew were the Church of Nativity; the grotto where Christ was born; and the 14th station — the place he was crucified.

"We thankfully got help from the locals. Without them, it would have been impossible to complete the shoot. I remember we were shooting in the grotto, where it is very dark.

Suddenly, policemen came and asked us to hand over our cameras and equipment. A priest who was with us asked me to hand over the tape, and told the cops we were not filming at all."

When asked what her most memorable experience on the trip was, Deepti said, "I think it was God's calling that I made this trip. It wouldn't have been possible to complete the shoot without any problems without His blessing. We kept hearing about blasts in nearby places, but were determined to go ahead with the shoot."

This episode of the show will air on March 26 at 12.30 pm, on Star Plus.