‘Covid-19 took a toll on not only actors, but also makers’
Actor Priyamani is glad that her film, Maidaan co-starring actor Ajay Devgn is finally set to get a theatrical release after multiple delays due to the pandemic. But the road to this has been an uphill task shares the actor.
“We finished shooting the film sometime back. The entire film was finished, but it (the release date) had to be shifted [due to the pandemic]. The makers faced a lot of difficulties because of Covid19. They couldn’t get the crew and the actors to fly down. However, we followed all the safety protocols and are now looking forward to release it,” says the 37-year-old.
The actor, who has worked predominantly in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam-language films, says it was then that she realised how the pandemic had wreaked havoc on the entire industry. “It has affected not only my work, but everybody else’s. We never expected something like Covid to come and hurt us this badly. It took a toll on not only actors, but also the makers, producers and distributors. A lot of money was spent on the projects which could not be released on time,” she adds.
Ask her if the constant delays in her releases got to her at any point, The Family Man actor says, “As actors, you give it (the film) your blood, sweat and tears, and want it to release and do well. So if it doesn’t go the way you want it to, you do get upset. But we have to be patient as this is not permanent. On OTT, you have the comfort that this might not happen. But a theatrical experience is theatrical experience.”
Talking about her upcoming release, she shares, “It’s going to be a different film. It’s a different take even for (filmmaker) Amit Sharma, who has directed a film like this before (Gold; 2018). He has added another feather to his cap with this.”