Rajinikanth‘s upcoming Tamil action-drama film Annaatthe‘s shooting in Hyderabad was suspended on Wednesday after four crew members tested positive for Covid-19. The actor and other crew members have tested negative. Besides Rajinikanth, the film also stars Nayanthara, Keerthy Suresh, Prakash Raj, Soori, Meena, and Khushbu.
Sun Pictures, producers of the film, said on social media that during “routine testing” on the set, four crew members tested positive for Covid-19 while Rajinikanth and other crew members have tested negative. The shooting for the film has been postponed as “utmost safety” measures are being followed, the production banner said on social media.
Rajinikanth’s publicity manager has confirmed with Silverscreen India that the shoot has been suspended and that actor would be returning to Chennai.
This is the second time that shooting for the film has been halted this year. Shooting for Annaatthe was stopped because of the pandemic earlier this year. On December 12, Rajinikanth’s birthday, the film’s director Siva had tweeted a video announcing that the film’s shooting would resume on December 15.
Rajinikanth had left for Hyderabad in a chartered flight 10 days ago on December 13 to resume shooting for the film.
#SuperstarRajinikanth leaves to Hyderabad for #Annaatthe shoot pic.twitter.com/1YVdhVcIMY
— Sun Pictures (@sunpictures) December 13, 2020
On December 3, while speaking to the media regarding the launch of his political party, Rajinikanth had said that he would complete the remaining 40 per cent shooting for Annaatthe and that his political work would not hinder the shooting for the film, as it was his “duty to complete it”. Rajinikanth, at the time, had announced that he was going to launch his own political party in January 2021 and that he would announce the date of the launch on December 31, 2020.
Annaatthe is produced by Kalanithi Maran under his banner, Sun Pictures. Earlier this year, the makers of Annaatthe had announced that the film would release in theatres in 2021 during Pongal.
