Akshay Kumar and R Balki shoot outdoors for a public service ad with limited crew in masks

The cases of coronavirus are increasing in Maharashtra almost on a daily basis. The scare of the virus looms large on Bollywood which had stopped work in the past few months. But on Monday, Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar and R Balki shot for the campaign for Ayushman Bharat.

The actor-director duo was spotted at Kamalistan studio where they wrapped up the shoot in a span of two hours. Photos of the shoot have been circulated on social media and show most of the crew adhering precautions and social distancing norms. All the crew members had to walk through a sanitisation tunnel and then wear safety face masks and gears throughout the shoot.

Ashok Dubey, FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) general secretary, stated that adequate permission for the shoot was taken from the Mumbai police.

While speaking to a daily, Dubey revealed, "Jugal Kishore is the director for this, they had written a letter to CP and he granted them the permission. They shared the details with us and we also agreed that they could shoot with the necessary precautions. This is a government advertisement so we also didn’t disturb them. They abided by the rules of the government and completed the shoot with minimum crew.”

“They had a sanitiser tunnel, masks, gloves, all the norms were followed according to the government," he added.

Earlier in a statement, R Balki said, "Akshay and I have shot this ad campaign for the Government of India to make people aware about their responsibilities post lockdown. Things might seem difficult but through this ad, we now know what all precautions need to be taken to shoot in the post lockdown era. Our producer Anil Naidu made everything seem so effortless as we all maintained social distancing. The shoot happened smoothly following all hygiene protocols, ensuring minimum crew with maximum efficiency and safety."

With new protocols in place, filmmakers are eager to start shooting films again. Several films were halted mid-way when the lockdown was announced. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who has erected a massive set in Filmcity is likely to resume shooting his film 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' with Alia Bhatt. Sources state that filmmakers have already prepped to follow new rules and are now waiting for a green signal from Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray.