UAE-based actor stranded in Jordan for more than 100 days
Rik Aby says his ICA application was rejected eight times
UAE-based actor Rik Aby, who travelled to Jordan on March 16 for the shooting of a Malayalam survival drama, is stranded for more than 100 days and is desperately seeking help to return, Gulf News has learnt.
The film’s shooting, spearheaded by Malayalam superstar Prithviraj, was halted as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Desperate pleas
“I have applied for ICA approval but I have been rejected eight times … Please help me as I am in a tough spot for more than four months. I have lost out on commercial shoots that were already planned in the UAE,” Aby told Gulf News in an exclusive interview over phone from Jordan.
Aby, originally from Sudan, was a part of a fifty-plus crew of the highly-anticipated Prithviraj-led Aadujeevitham directed by India’s National Award-winning director Blessy.
Aby’s predicament closely mirrors the script of his Malayalam film, a tale of a recluse fighting for survival in a desert.
‘Only one stuck here’
“The whole team from India is back in their country, but I am the only one who’s stuck here … I have spent two Eids and Ramadan in Jordan now. I am worried that my UAE residency visa will expire before I can get clearance,” he said.
On May 22, the 58-member crew including lead actor Prithviraj and director Blessy returned to India after a special flight was arranged by the Embassy of India in Amman. “Everybody, including the local media in Jordan, have assumed that the whole team has gone back home.”
Aby has tested Covid-19 negative several times. “I have my bags packed and I am ready to go as soon as I get a clearance. I just want to get back to the UAE, my home.”