Filmmaker Priyadarshan, who was hospitalised in Chennai earlier this week after testing positive for Covid-19, is currently stable and his health condition has improved, his manager Shanavas told Silverscreen India.
“He was in the hospital for the past three or four days, but now his health has improved and he is currently doing fine. The doctors have said that he will be discharged tomorrow,” the manager said. The 64-year-old director has been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chennai ever since the diagnosis.
Priyadarshan’s last release was the National Award-winning film Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham starring Mohanlal in the lead role. While the film was shot in just 102 days without a break, he had to wait for over two years to release it in theatres due to the ongoing pandemic. The film, based on Kunjali Marakkar IV, the last of the Malayali naval leaders deployed by the Samoothiri of Calicut to fight against the Portuguese, had its digital release on Amazon Prime Video after a short run in the theatres.
The filmmaker also returned to the Hindi film industry in 2021 after a gap of eight years with Hungama 2 starring Paresh Rawal, Shilpa Shetty, and Meezaan Jafri. His last Hindi film directorial was Rangrezz (2013). The director also was a part of the 2021 Netflix anthology Navarasa in which he directed a segment titled Haasya. The story is based on the life of Malayalam comedian Innocent Vareed Thekkethala and Tamil actor Yogi Babu starred in it.
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As the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise across the country, several celebrities including Mahesh Babu, Trisha, Lakshmi Manchu, Ekta Kapoor, John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Swara Bhasker, Vishal Dadlani, and others have recently tested positive for the virus. Several states have either announced the closure of cinema halls or imposed occupancy restrictions in theatres. While Mumbai and Delhi are recording the highest daily numbers, Chennai continues to report the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the state of Tamil Nadu. On Thursday, India recorded over 1 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases.