By: Aswathy Nair
With the Coronavirus crisis showing no sign of receding, the Indian film industry is bracing itself for a monumental loss in revenue. Films, which were already at various stages of development, are the worst affected.
A popular tabloid reports that the makers of Kangana Ranaut’s forthcoming film Thalaivi are staring at a loss of approximately ₹5 crore. The sets built to shoot the film in Hyderabad and Chennai have not been used ever since the nationwide lockdown was imposed more than a month ago. If the lockdown continues into June, the monsoon season will devastate the sets further, which will incur losses of around ₹5 crore.
Worried, producer Shailesh R Singh tells the publication, “We need to wrap up the film before the rains hit. Since they are outdoor set-up, they will be ruined in the monsoon. Reconstructing the set will be an expensive affair.”
The producer goes on to add that the safety of his team is of utmost important at this time. “Our team’s safety is our priority. We had paid (the studio) for March, but were unable to shoot for a single day in Hyderabad. It is uncertain when the lockdown will be lifted. Even if we get a 10-day window, we will finish shooting the outdoor portions.”
Helmed by A. L. Vijay, Thalaivi is based on the life of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. National Film Award-winning actress Kangana Ranaut will be seen in the titular role. The film was slated to enter theatres simultaneously in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on 26 June 2020, but looking at the current situation in the country, it seems unlikely that it will release on the scheduled date.
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