Corona Virus has brought the entire film industry to a standstill. But Akshay Kumar and R Balki who have worked together for Padman and Mission Mangal, have taken one small step for filming, one giant leap for Bollywood in the lockdown era!
On Monday, Akshay Kumar was the first actor to resume shooting in this Covid-19 lockdown. However, the reason was also a commendable social advertisement for the health ministry – ‘Ayushman Bharat’, to make every citizen aware of their responsibilities post-lockdown.
Shot at Mumbai’s Kamalistan Studio in collaboration with R Balki, Akshay Kumar featured in this Coronavirus awareness campaign to inculcate positive behavioral changes in public regarding hygiene and raise awareness about other safety practices post-lockdown.
R Balki said,“We need to get back to work but ensure our safety and those of others. So, at our shoot we did the same.” Through their shooting, they effectively demonstrated the message by setting the example. Firstly, the team secured all the proper legal permissions from Mumbai police and Municipal Corporation.
They took all the necessary safety precautions- like sanitizing the set, using minimal crew, maintaining appropriate social distancing, and wearing protective gear. To ensure meticulous personal sanitation, every member of the crew had to go through a disinfection tunnel, post which they had to get their hands sanitized, their temperature checked by medical personnel in PPE gear, and then wear masks and gloves.
Even with limited crew at hand, their producer Anil Naidu helped make the shooting seamless and safe, with all the hygiene protocols being diligently observed. Akshay Kumar arrived on time, cooperated with all the formalities, social distancing norms and finished his work in just an hour. Everyone got used to it in a few minutes. The process was so smooth and efficient that the entire shoot got wrapped up in mere 2 hours! It provided them with a great first-hand experience in tackling filming in the post-Corona world.
This shooting has given hope to the others that they just might be able to resume shooting in this restrictive lockdown scenario albeit by following the strict protocols to ensure there are no serious repercussions. In fact, with the Producers Guild of India preparing a new set of post-lockdown filming rules for the TV and film industry, filmmakers are raring to go and just waiting for the official green signal!
Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar’s movie ‘Laxmmi Bomb’ which was initially scheduled to hit the theatres on May 22, will soon be releasing on the OTT platform Disney+Hotstar instead.
