Shot 'Coronavirus' film in lockdown while strictly following guidelines: Ram Gopal Varma
Mumbai: Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma on Wednesday said he has shot a film, titled "Coronavirus", during the lockdown while following all the necessary precautions and guidelines.
All the film and television shootings were suspended from mid-March to avoid the spread of the virus.
Varma took to Twitter to unveil the trailer of the film, which he said is based on the pandemic. The film is directed by Agasthya Manju with Varma attached as a producer.
Taking dig at celebrities videos in quarantine, Varma said, "When the rest of film people were sweeping floors, cooking food, washing utensils, drying clothesetc etc I made a film."
"We shot the coronavirus film in the lockdown period while strictly following guidelines," he said.
The film's trailer shows a woman coughing profusely in her room, making her family worried that she might have contracted the coronavirus.
"Coronavirus is not a horror film. It is about the horrors which are inside all of us including our great political leaders and bureaucrats who actually know only as much as us which is just nothing," Varma said.
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, the star of Varma's many films including the "Sarkar" series, "Nishabd" and 'Sholay' remake, cheekily titled "Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag", also shared the trailer of the film.
"The irrepressible Ram Gopal Varma, 'Ramu' to many .. 'Sarkaaar' to me .. makes an entire film about a family in Lockdown, shot during Lockdown ..Titled: CORONAVIRUS .. perhaps the first film to be made on the virus ..This be the TRAILER," Bachchan tweeted.
The director was once regarded as the pioneer of new age cinema with his cult hits "Satya", "Company", "Shool", "Sarkar" and horror films such as "Raat" and "Bhoot". His more recent cinematic outings have not been as successful
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NDA's win in Bihar Assembly bypolls a matter of concern: Prashant Kishor
Patna, Nov 23: Political strategist turned activist Prashant Kishor on Saturday dubbed as "a matter of concern" the NDA's win in assembly by-polls in Bihar despite "failure" of the BJP-led coalition to end the state's chronic backwardness during it's decades-long rule.
Talking to reporters here shortly after the results were out, Kishor also drew succour from the fact that his fledgling Jan Suraaj won "10 per cent" of the total votes polled in four seats, but rubbished the claim that it had played a role in the RJD's defeat in three of these.
"RJD is a 30-year-old party. The son of its state president finished third. Can Jan Suraaj be faulted for that? In Belaganj all Muslim votes went to the JD(U) candidate. In Imamganj, the Jan Suraaj cut into NDA votes. Else, the victory margin of (Union minister) Jitan Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha would have been bigger", asserted Kishor.
Notably, Imamganj, a reserved seat, was retained by Manjhi's daughter-in-law Deepa, who defeated the RJD candidate by a thin margin of less than 6,000 votes. Jan Suraaj candidate Jitendra Paswan finished third, polling more than 37,000 votes.
When pointed out that in three of the four seats, candidates of Jan Suraaj had polled less than one-sixth of the total votes and ran the risk of losing their deposits, Kishor shot back "That should not be a matter of concern (chinta ki baat). If there is a matter of concern, it is the ability of the NDA to make a clean sweep despite having ruled Bihar for so long and "failed" to end the state's backwardness".
The IPAC founder, who had a brief stint in the JD(U), insisted that the party's supremo Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, was a "spent force" and its candidate, former MLC Manorama Devi, had won on her own steam.
"We have always said that our fight is with NDA, not with RJD despite its claim of being the largest party in Bihar.....(but) Nitish Kumar is no factor. His party polled just about 11 per cent of total votes", said Kishor.
About his own party's inability to make a mark, Kishor said "We have secured 10 per cent votes..... in seats where Jan Suraaj had no presence since these areas were yet to be covered by my padyatra. Also, please note that we got our poll symbol after filing of nomination papers was over".
He also maintained that the Jan Suraaj will go solo in the assembly polls due next year when it will contest "all 243 seats".
"We were initially written off but by garnering about 10 per cent votes, in a state known to vote along predictable caste lines, we have proved a point. In the next few months we shall be strengthening the organization to ensure that vote share of the Jan Suraaj improves", he said.
