Even as producer Vikram Malhotra doled out three films in the past 12 months, including the recent Sherni, he has had his focus constantly trained on his passion project, The End. Akshay Kumar’s maiden OTT project, which has to be shot in foreign locations, has not got off the ground due to the pandemic-induced travel restrictions. Though Europe has reopened its borders for fully vaccinated travellers, the producer says that lack of clarity on several counts has made him play the waiting game.

“We’ve been speaking to authorities and their local counterparts to understand the protocols [for international travel]. We don’t know whether vaccine certificates are acceptable for travel. Which vaccines are [deemed] acceptable is another area of discussion. We are awaiting official statements on the matter. We have utilised the lockdown period to finish writing The End and begin pre-production,” says Malhotra.

The creator-producer is determined not to let the roadblocks hamper his grand vision for the Amazon Prime Video series. “We have to keep two variables in mind — Akshay’s dates, and the status of international travel.”

With Chhori and portions of Ram Setu being shot amid the pandemic, he maintains that filming on home turf is no cakewalk either. “In trying to mitigate Covid risk, we have created safety protocols that sometimes come in the way of shoots. For instance, everyone on set wears a face shield. But on ground, it becomes challenging for the DoP [director of photography] to check if the framing is on point [due to the additional filter],” he notes.

For now, Malhotra can take heart in the love pouring in for Vidya Balan’s Sherni. The movie not only highlighted the man-animal conflict, but also offered a sharp commentary on patriarchy. “Conservation is not just the [responsibility] of those in authority; that’s the message Amit [Masurkar, director] and Aastha [Tiku, co-writer] have beautifully conveyed. The Forest Department let us engage with forest officers, guards and trackers.”