The first two quarters of the year saw many Indians, including Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran and Bollywood actress Mouni Roy, getting stuck abroad due to the pandemic. Now with places gradually opening up across the globe, shoots of Indian films and shows in foreign locales have started again, but with precautions.
One of the first big budget films to venture abroad for filming was the Akshay Kumar-starrer “Bell Bottom”. The crew had flown to the UK for a long schedule and returned home only recently.
Jackky Bhagnani, one of the producers of the film, didn’t share minute details of the challenges faced while shooting amidst the pandemic but called it “a difficult phase to shoot”.
For web series, it seems like Dubai is a hot favourite spot right now. Actors Angad Bedi and Sandeepa Dhar shot a special sequence for the upcoming web series, “Mum Bhai”, in the Emirate.
Before leaving Mumbai earlier this month, Sandeepa had said she was quite worried, though eventually it turned out to be a “smooth sail”.
“It was very pleasant, right from the time we landed. It was very well organised, the entire system of checking and testing. It was a smooth sail. I felt safe. The shooting experience was also easy breezy because the local crew was supportive. They got us to home-made food,” the actress told IANS.
Angad found shooting in Dubai a different experience. “We kept on getting tested. We were tested (for Covid-19) before we left the country, in Mumbai, and as soon as we landed in Dubai, we got tested at the airport. The report came in eight hours. One day we had to quarantine. The following day, we started our shoot,” he told IANS.
“It was good to see people over there maintaining social distance, everyone was wearing a mask. Even in places which were supposed to be crowded, there was negligible crowd. Even at shops, they were extremely careful,” he added.
For the crew, it was quite challenging to finish the shoot within stipulated time. (IANS)
