India, which has imposed a strict nationwide lockdown on its over 1.37 billion citizens until 14 April, has also sealed its international borders. Indian movie star Prithiviraj Sukumaran is stranded in Jordan.
The 37-year old actor was in Jordan for a movie shoot before the COVID-19 situation called for the sealing of borders and a national lockdown in India. Along with Prithiviraj, critically acclaimed Malayalam director Blessy and 56 film crew are waiting to be evacuated from the country and brought back home, media reported on Wednesday.
Prithiviraj uploaded a message on his Instagram, updating his 2.3 million followers about his status.
View this post on Instagram#Aadujeevitham (Correction: Shoot permission was revoked on 27/03/2020. Sorry about the typo)
To swiftly facilitate their return to India, Blessy has reached out to the Kerala Film Chamber, suggesting the south Indian film fraternity take up the matter with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Veteran actress and Prithiviraj’s mother Malika Sukumaran has revealed that the shooting of the film “Aadujeevitham'' – a sequence of which was being shot in a desert in Jordan has been halted for the time being, as that country has also imposed restrictions.
“Aadujeevitham” – which is set to be one of the most expensive movies in the Malayalam language is scheduled to be shot at different international locations.
After Jordan, the team was supposed to head to Algeria.
As of now, no final decision on bringing the stranded cast back to India has been.
Earlier last week, videos of Indian students stuck in Kazakhstan went viral on social media after which the Delhi High Court directed the government to appoint an officer from the Indian embassy in Kazakhstan to ensure the safety and well-being of the students.
India has been quick to rescue nationals stuck in other countries, including China, Iran and Italy.
Currently, India’s federal Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has noted 1,466 COVID-19 positive cases, along with 38 deaths.
