Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who has come under the wrath of India’s farmers for being PM Narendra Modi’s lackey and not supporting their cause, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Sunday and he was hospitalized on Monday. According to Indian media reports, along with Kumar, 45 people working on “Ram Setu,” Amazon India’s first Indian film co-production, also tested positive for coronavirus.” Meanwhile Punjabi film industry keeps making movies even though dozens of star-driven films remain in limbo with great uncertainty when they will be released in theatres or if anyone will come out to see them when they do.  

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff With News Files

MUMBAI - Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who has come under the wrath of India’s farmers for being PM Narendra Modi’s lackey and not supporting their cause, has been hospitalized and his much awaited blockbuster “Sooryavanshi” has been postponed as COVID-19 rampages across Mumbai, capital of the Hindi-language film industry.

Kumar was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Sunday and he was hospitalized on Monday. According to Indian media reports, along with Kumar, 45 people working on “Ram Setu,” Amazon India’s first Indian film co-production, also tested positive for coronavirus,” reported Variety magazine

According to a spokesperson for the film, the 45 people who tested positive were not on the sets of the film. 

“This is inaccurate that they were on set,” an official spokesperson for “Ram Setu” told Variety. “These individuals were part of an upcoming set of junior artistes and extras and were tested off-location as part of the production’s stringent testing protocols and guidelines. None of them even joined the production unit and were never on set.”

“At this stage, our only focus is on the health, safety and well-being of our entire crew,” the spokesperson added. “Strict health and safety protocols, frequent testing and timely medical care has ensured early detection of positive cases amongst our unit. We are closely monitoring the situation but in the interest of abundant caution, we have paused the shooting for now.”

Many of those supporting famers had criticized Kumar and other Bollywood celebrities for not supporting those who feed India against the draconian laws brought forth by the rightwing BJP government and vowed to boycott Bollywood movies in theatres and on TV and digital platforms.

Separately, actors Vicky Kaushal (“Uri: The Surgical Strike”) and Bhumi Pednekar (“Dolly Kitty and Those Twinkling Stars”) also tested positive on Monday.

Mumbai went into restrictions from Monday as Maharashtra, the western Indian state of which Mumbai is the capital, became the country’s epicenter for the pandemic. Cinemas, malls and restaurants have shut down until further notice. India recorded 103,558 new coronavirus cases on Monday, with 478 deaths, the country’s highest ever one-day figure to date, according to figures from the health ministry. Some 55% of the cases are from Maharashtra.

Consequently, Reliance Entertainment has decided to postpone the April 30 release of “Sooryavanshi,” starring Kumar, Ranveer Singh and Ajay Devgn.

Last week, the release of “Chehre,” starring Amitabh Bachchan, was also postponed. 

Other high profile COVID-19 cases from Mumbai include superstar Aamir Khan, and former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

PUNJABI CINEMA ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH!

Meanwhile Punjabi film industry keeps making movies even though dozens of star-driven films remain in limbo with great uncertainty when they will be released in theatres or if anyone will come out to see them when they do.  

One of the worst in this regard has been singer-actor Gippy Grewal, who has been churning out film after film despite the fact that there is no prospect of release in sight. Maybe he has a strategy to build up a big library of films to release but mostly it seems to be just sheer ego and access to free third party money. 

Unlike Bollywood, which can sell the films to streaming platforms like Amazon, Netflix, Disney-Hotstar and others, Punjabi film industry has no avenues for release in order to recoup their costs as TV-digital and music only return less than 25 percent of the budget. 

The Punjabi film industry has been asleep while digital-streaming platforms have sprung up in India but nothing to support Punjabi feature films and web series that can release films on their platform as a ticketed event while also providing a library of films for a low monthly sum. Until the Punjabi film industry gets its act together, it is facing disaster and a very dim future.

Courtesy Variety