Bengaluru: The coronavirus scare has not left the Kannada film industry untouched. Shooting schedules for two much-awaited films from Sandalwood have been disrupted. The producers of Yuvarathna, starring Puneeth Rajkumar and directed by Santosh Anandram, and Robert, starring Darshan, have cancelled shooting trips in foreign locales due to the COVID-19 outbreak in several parts of the world.
Santosh Anandram told Deccan Chronicle that the Yuvarathna production team was to travel to Europe for a shoot but called it off when the coronavirus broke out with virulence in Italy.
Yuvarathna is a much-anticipated film for the reunion of actor and director of Raajakumara. The film features 40 renowned artists. The production team said just a few songs were left for the to complete. They had planned to go abroad for the shoot but with the COVID-19 scare flaring up, a delay is likely.
"We planned to shoot one song in Europe. But fans need not worry because we will plan some other way to make it happen. We have completed the talkie portion of the movie and dubbing for the first half is also done. So by May end Appu fans can enjoy his film " Santosh added.
As for the Robert team, they had to cancel a Spain trip for a song shoot. They have decided to get it done in Karnataka itself because the film is approaching its release date. "We had already announced the release date. We don't want to make wait Darshan fans wait any longer, so Robert will release as announced,” said Tharun Sudhir, the director of the film.
The coronavirus scare has had other impacts on the industry here. Radhika Pandit cancelled her birthday celebration with fans. Every year Radhika, wife of actor Yash, used to celebrate her birthday with her fans. Due to the ongoing COVID-2019 outbreak, that party is off. A quiet family get-together has been planned in Bengaluru.
"This time we are celebrating Radhika's birthday in a simple way. Since we have children in our house and the virus is spreading everywhere, there should not be too many people. This time there is no celebration. In the evening, I and Radhika will go and spend time together,” Yash told reporters.
