Coronavirus update: Shooting of Allu Arjun’s Pushpa stalled by positive tests, may only resume next year

Shooting for Allu Arjun’s multilingual action drama Pushpa (2021), based on the lucrative business of smuggling red sandalwood, resumed after a long break last month in Visakhapatnam. But now, six crew members have tested positive for COVID-19 and the shooting has been stalled again.

The team was shooting at a specially erected set in Visakhapatnam. Director Sukumar, Allu Arjun and the cinematographer have tested negative but are currently in self-imposed quarantine.

A Mid-Day newspaper report confirmed that six crew members had tested positive. The report quoted a source from the team saying that despite taking all precautions, a few unit members had tested positive.

The report added that the shooting will now only resume next year near the Maredumilli forest in Andhra Pradesh.

Pushpa features Rashmika Mandanna as the leading lady and Vijay Sethupathi as the antagonist. The film’s first-look poster was unveiled on Arjun’s birthday in April. The poster features Arjun in a fierce and intense avatar. His powerful gaze is an indication that he is a man with a lot of secrets.

The makers had recently revealed that they are spending a whopping Rs6 crore to film a chase sequence in the movie. The sequence is to be shot under the supervision of some international stunt directors.

The project, a thriller set in the forests of the South, is Arjun’s maiden pan-India project and will be released in five languages. The film marks the third collaboration between Arjun and Sukumar.

Arjun was seen on the big screen early this year in Ala Vaikunthapuramuloo (2020), which marked his third collaboration with filmmaker Trivikram. The film, which grossed over Rs200 crore during its theatrical run, featured Pooja Hegde and Nivetha Pethuraj as the leading ladies and Tabu in a pivotal role, marking her return to Telugu cinema after two decades.