Construction of Alia Bhatt's Brahmastra, SRK's Pathan sets halted post significant rise in COVID cases
As the coronavirus cases are increasing across the country, several shootings have been stalled as a result of which the construction of sets for two big projects has also been put on hold.
India is witnessing the second wave of COVID 19 and while the cases are rising significantly with every passing day, the pandemic has once again started taking a toll on normal life. While several states have announced partial lockdowns and night curfews, it is indeed affecting the common man on a large scale. Even the entertainment industry is facing the wrath of the pandemic. According to a report published in the Times of India, given the rise in coronavirus cases, several shootings have been stalled.
Reportedly, while the makers of Brahmastra, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan and Alia Bhatt, and Shah Rukh Khan starrer were constructing the big sets for their respective projects, the construction has been put on hold leaving hundreds of workers jobless. Talking about the same, Zahid Shaikh of Cine Dancers Association (CDA) stated, "There was a 'Brahmastra' song that needed 300 dancers, there was a Rohit Shetty song for 'Cirkus', one song to be choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant and there were quite a few outdoor shootings. Rehearsals of all the songs were done but now the shooting is cancelled. In the case of 'Brahmastra', first Ranbir Kapoor got Covid so we had to stop the work for 15 days and then Alia Bhatt got infected and now there's a government mandate to not shoot big songs which is really unfortunate."
On the other hand, FWICE general secretary Ashok Dubey revealed that while three big sets were being constructed for Pathan, it has also been kept on hold. "Then there was the Brahmastra set and Vikram Motwane's Andolan Pictures' set that was also under construction. Each set had about 250 members from the setting department working every day and the work was supposed to go on for a month but this new lockdown will hit their livelihood," he was quoted saying to TOI.
Meanwhile, Ram Setu shooting has also been stalled after lead actor Akshay Kumar had tested positive along with 45 people from the crew. Undoubtedly, the COVID 19 pandemic and the subsequent guidelines have put the industry on a backfoot again.