After the government of India has decided to relax a few of the rules during lockdown, and allowing permission for film shoots with strict guidelines, filmmakers are gearing up to begin again. When the lockdown was enforced three months ago to stop the spread of COVID-19, shoots of all kinds were prohibited during these times.
Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta, who was shooting the last leg of upcoming gangster drama Mumbai Saga (2020) starring John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi, had to stop immediately. The team was shooting an action scene in Mumbai when the lockdown was announced by the state government.
Now, the makers have confirmed to the daily Mumbai Mirror that they will resume shooting the remaining portion of the film in Hyderabad's Ramoji Rao Film City studios as they have already obtained permission from the respective government bodies.
Gupta, with the rest of the cast and crew, will soon land in Hyderabad to complete the shoot. "Yes, we are planning to shoot in Ramoji Rao Film City as they have all the facilities and equipment required, including an in-house crew and technical staff, along with hotels for the team from Mumbai. It’s all contained within the studio promises and that cuts down the risk," Gupta confirmed.
Mumbai Saga is a gangster drama set in the 1980s and 1990s with the leads Hashmi as a police officer and John as the gangster. The film is based on real-life incidents and tells the story of how Bombay became Mumbai.
With only 10-12 days of the shoot remaining, the cast is happy to complete the shoot, Gupta shared. "They have all worked really hard on the film and are happy to finish it on time so that we can present it to the audience," he added. "Of course, the well being of the team is our top priority."
The filmmaker also shared that the team had been working on the visual effects during the lockdown period and it will take them another four months after the shoot is complete to lock the final print.
The film's producer, Bhushan Kumar, also expressed his gratitude towards Telangana state government for allowing them to shoot in Ramoji Rao Film City "The health of everyone working on the project is our foremost concern. I am happy our supportive cast and crew have agreed to shoot," he said.
Along with John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi, Mumbai Saga also stars Suniel Shetty, Gulshan Grover, Rohit Roy and Prateik Babbar.