Disinfection tunnel, 20-people crew, doctor on-set: Akshay Kumar shoots amid lockdown

Akshay Kumar became the first actor to shoot amid Coronavirus pandemic lockdown for the Department of drinking water and sanitation, with director R. Balki. Speaking exclusively with Republic TV, Anil Naidu, the Producer, confirmed that the ad was shot on May 25th at the Kamalistan Studio.

Explaining the position on the set, Anil Naidu told Republic TV, "Akshay came in dressed. He drove himself. His makeup was done at home. There were 20 people in total. We had a disinfectant tunnel, everyone wore a mask, there was a doctor on set to check temperatures, there was enough social distancing between people, everything was being sanitised every now and then."

Naidu said that the moment the letter from the Ministry came, they got in touch with the Police department and we were asked questions — how many people, precautions to be taken, etc. What is the future of shoots amid Coronavirus crisis and Naidu immediately says, "We will have to train every department to work in these conditions and this is the future and will have to work towards it. The limited crew is the future."

"There was nothing more than what was required. We were very precise about what was needed for the shoot. Even the entourage was the bare minimum, and not to be seen hanging around on the set at all," Naidu concluded.

What's next for Akshay Kumar?

The Housefull actor will be seen in Rohit Shetty's Sooryavanshi which was scheduled to release on March 24. Akshay Kumar will also be seen in a special appearance in Aanand L Rai's upcoming film Atrangi Re which features Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush in lead roles. He will also feature in Raghava Lawrence directed horror comedy film Laxmmi Bomb along with Kiara Advani which is expected to release on OTT platform soon.