Shreyas Talpade shoots for Love You Shankar in Banaras

Director Rajiv Ruia's Love You Shankar (2021) becomes the second film after Woh 3 Din (2021) to shoot in Banaras after restrictions were eased during the lockdown. The film, based on reincarnation, stars Shreyas Talpade as a pandit.

Ruia spoke to the Times of India newspaper about the challenges involved in shooting during the pandemic. "Till now, we have shot mainly in a private haveli on one of the ghats, which we have converted into a no-trespassing zone, so that there is least outside entry and contact," he explained.

"As per the directives, we are working with minimum crew, which is at least fifty percent less than what we used to have in normal times. Similarly, we are calling artistes on the set only when required, so that he or she spends least time there," he added.

"Apart from this, thermal scanning, sanitizing and social distancing is being maintained on the sets. A doctor and an ambulance are present at the location. As we are sanitizing the entire area after every shot, the pace of work has slowed down. Earlier, if we could shoot two scenes in a day, now we are able to complete just one," he said.

Talpade shared how he was preparing for the film. “Though this is my third film in Varanasi, I’m playing a pandit for the first time with a choti, etc,” he said. “My character just has a Banarasi accent, I have worked more on the body language.”

Tanishaa Mukerji, Hemant Pandey, Prateek Jain, and Abhimanyu Singh are also part of the cast.