May has been busy for Saiyaara (2025) star Aneet Padda, who was shooting the final schedule of her next, Shakti Shalini. Like all good things, this one came to an end too. On May 27, director Aditya Sarpotdar wrapped the horror comedy at Chitrarth Studio in Powai, where they filmed an elaborate sequence that sees the celebration of the protagonist’s victory over evil.

The latest chapter in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe sees Padda in a double role — as an ordinary woman-turned-protector Shakti, and an evil spirit Shalini. The story revolves around the vengeful ghost who punishes men, as she was betrayed and killed in a brutal manner, and her eventual face-off with Shakti.

About the last day of the shoot, a source shared, “Massive sets depicting a Rajasthani village and the interiors of a house were built. The sequence shows the village people, especially women, celebrating the defeat of evil.”

Things have progressed briskly on Shakti Shalini — also starring Vishal Jethwa and Viineet Kumar Siingh — since the horror comedy rolled in March. In early May, Padda and the team headed to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The source elaborated, “Viineet, who portrays the antagonist, and Aneet shot the climax across Chambal, Datia, Antri, Panihar, Gwalior, and Morena in Madhya Pradesh. They filmed significant portions in Dholpur and Barkhandi in Rajasthan. Nana Patekar and Seema Biswas joined the unit in May.”

Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi celebrated Christmas last year by taking Merry Christmas on floors. Several months and two extensive schedules later, director Sriram Raghavan is ready to call action on the final stint of the thriller, which will take place in Powai.

A source reveals, “A set of several houses is being built at Chitrarth Studios in Powai, where the actors will film the climax. Beginning from September 7, Katrina and Vijay have allotted the next 10 days for the shoot. The director has also lined up a two-to-three-day shoot in Pune, following which it will be a wrap.”

With Merry Christmas, Raghavan — known for his slick thrillers like Ek Hasina Thi (2004), Badlapur (2015) and AndhaDhun (2018) — apparently tells the story of a Christmas Eve that starts out uneventfully but soon turns the protagonists’ lives upside down. The film, slated for a December 23 release, marks his first collaboration with Sethupathi and Kaif. It also marks the south actor’s Bollywood debut.

On Friday, mid-day reported that the Maidaan set, built at Madh Island, was among the many properties destroyed by Cyclone Tauktae (The ruined playing field, May 21). This comes as a severe blow to producer Boney Kapoor who has spared no expense for the ambitious Ajay Devgn-led sports drama. Only months after the film went on floors in August 2019, the producer zeroed in on a 16-acre plot in Madh Island, where a huge makeshift stadium was built to shoot the football matches.

A unit member recounts that the set was first dismantled in May 2020 in the wake of the first lockdown. “After things improved, we rebuilt it in November 2020. The unit resumed work on February 14 this year at a Powai studio, and went on to shoot four crucial football matches at the Madh Island set-up. But the filming was stalled soon after due to the junta curfew,” says the source.

The multi-crore makeshift stadium was retained in the hope that director Amit Ravindernath Sharma would shoot the remaining matches at the venue as soon as the restrictions were eased. Hardly had anybody anticipated a cyclone that would leave the site — comprising eight make-up rooms, a hall for junior artistes, a standalone room for production control and 26 toilets — ravaged. The source adds, “Boney has suffered serious losses. Almost 80 per cent of the site is damaged. About 10 days of landscaping will be required to revamp the ground, but the surrounding areas will take more time. The monsoon will pose another problem. The set will have to be recreated by September so that the pending four matches can be wrapped up.”

Though devastated, Kapoor is grateful that those present on the premises were not hurt. “We had a team of curators, staff members and security at the venue. Thankfully, nothing happened to them,” says the producer, before taking stock of the damage to property. “I will have to build the set for the third time. It took us six months to construct it the first time, and a couple of months to rebuild it last year. Hopefully, this time, we’ll reconstruct it in one-and-a-half months.” The film is eyeing an October release.

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Even before the entertainment industry could recover from the blow dealt by the Covid-19 last year, came its second wave. And now, cylcone Tauktae. While it hit the western coast hard, particularly hit has been the set of Ajay Devgn-starrer Maidaan. Recently rebuilt by producer Boney Kapoor after it was dismantled last year, it will have to be rebuilt again

“Now, I will have to construct the set for the third time as due to the cyclone 70-80% of the set has been destroyed,” says Kapoor, adding, “What I am going through is horrible. I don’t want to be reminded of it. If I think about the pressure or feelings or loss, I will start crying. If I think about the budget overshooting and expenses piling up, I might go into depression. Mera dil hi nahin kar raha ke set dekhun abhi. All I know and I am doing is staying positive and thinking positive. Thank God, there was no casualty and no one was injured. Luckily all 40-50 people who were on the set were fine. It would have been worse had anything happened to anyone.”

When they built the set this year, they were able to shoot 50% of the matches for the film. Then the lockdown was announced and shoots were halted. Now, shoot for 20 odd days is left and it needs particular sets to shoot the matches. “Last year, when we dismantled, materials could be reused. But after destruction in a cyclone, hardly anything is salvageable. I had eight makeup rooms, 26 bathrooms, different sets, but most of it is gone. We had an eight-camera setup and specialised equipment to capture players while playing,” he shares.

As several films are stuck due to theatres being shut, Kapoor says he can understand what producers are going through. “Someone’s pain is bigger than others but we are all affected. Everyone is going through this painful journey. I might be the most affected person in the industry right now. It is not just about many projects of mine facing delay in release but also having to put up a set for the third time. Imagine that! I am a theatre person and will release my films in theatres. I am waiting for them to open,” ends the 65-year-old.

The shoot of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 had to be halted in the third week of March after Kartik Aaryan tested positive for Coronavirus. Now that the actor is back in business after recuperating from the infection, another obstacle has reared its ugly head. Amid speculation that the state government may impose a 15-day complete lockdown to break the chain of virus transmission, director Anees Bazmee is compelled to play the wait-and-watch game, despite having his lead actors’ dates.  

“I am waiting because there are reports of the lockdown being extended, and rumours of a complete lockdown in Mumbai. So, we are unable to plan anything. Kartik is so kind. He has told us, ‘Whenever you decide to shoot, I am ready.’ All actors involved have been cooperative,” says the director of the horror-comedy, also starring Tabu and Kiara Advani.

When the team resumed work in early March, a set was built at a Powai studio for the penultimate leg. The set-up was dismantled after the leading man came down with the infection. Explaining the dilemma facing him, Bazmee says, “Now, we’ll have to rebuild it before we resume shooting. But if the lockdown [is imposed] after our set is ready, it will be a heavy loss for the producers, so we might as well wait it out.” After the Mumbai schedule is wrapped up, the unit will set their sights on Lucknow, the destination of their final schedule. “We are to shoot at a haveli. We couldn’t finish the Lucknow schedule [last March] because of the pandemic. So, we will have to go back for a 10-day stint.”

Shooting in the new normal has not been easy — where one has to be constantly cautious, it has also been a test of patience and perseverance for artistes and filmmakers. “Despite following all the on-set guidelines, people tested positive. So, things are not in your control beyond a point. It is a pressing time for all of us as shoots are getting difficult, budgets have increased by 20-25 per cent, and the cases have surged.”

After Ranbir Kapoor, Kartik Aaryan, Manoj Bajpayee and Siddhant Chaturvedi, another Bollywood celebrity has contracted the Coronavirus. Director Amit Ravindernath Sharma, who was filming the penultimate schedule of Maidaan till March 12, tested positive a few days later. Without the captain of the ship, the last leg of the sports drama, which sees Ajay Devgn play football coach Syed Abdul Rahim, is postponed by almost two weeks.

A source from the Maidaan unit reveals that the team was slated to kick off the final schedule in Madh Island on March 16. “After every two matches, the makeshift football ground has to be refurbished as it gets damaged during the shoot. So, after the team wrapped up the schedule on March 12, a three-day break was charted out to give a touch-up to the stadium. But with Amit in isolation at his home, the shoot will now begin in April,” says the source. Leading man Devgn is utilising the time to complete the remaining portions of his directorial venture, Mayday, in Mumbai while overseeing the post-production of Bhuj: The Pride Of India.  

Maidaan is one of the many films that have had a long journey to the finish line due to the lockdown. After an 11-month wait, the unit of the Boney Kapoor production resumed work on the drama on February 14 at Chitrarth studios in Powai, and went on to shoot the crucial football matches at the Madh Island set.

Confirming that he has tested positive, the director told mid-day, “We plan to resume shooting in the first week of April.”

Ajay Devgn has waited long to revisit the universe of Maidaan, which brings the journey of football coach Syed Abdul Rahim to the big screen. The unit, led by director Amit Ravindernath Sharma, had to halt the shoot last March due to the lockdown. Soon, in May, the makers had to dismantle the 16-acre set — a replica of an international football stadium - at Madh Island ahead of the monsoon. After an 11-month break, Devgn is now ready to step into the late football coach’s shoes again as the team resumes work at Chitrarth Studio in Powai tomorrow.

“The fourth schedule will be short. Ajay will film a few indoor portions with his co-stars who essay the roles of Indian and international football players,” reveals a source from the creative team. 

While the leading man, Sharma and producer Boney Kapoor stitch together the indoor sequences, another team is hard at work, re-building the set at Madh Island from scratch. Although a major portion of the sports drama was filmed before the pandemic, the director had saved the crucial parts for the last leg — the sequences depicting the Indian football team’s victory at the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games, and the semi-final match at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. 

The source adds, “If all goes as planned, the makeshift stadium will be ready in the first week of March. The final stint will begin on March 10, during which Devgn will film football matches back-to-back. The football coaching of the on-screen players and physical conditioning camp have been underway since the past two months. The production team has adhered to safety norms during the fitness programme and will continue to do so throughout the schedule that will go on till April-end.”

The sports drama is slated to release on October 15.

A day before he left for the shoot of Dhamaka, Kartik Aaryan had revealed that his mother was worried about him filming amid the pandemic. His mother can now heave a sigh of relief - Aaryan will shoot his last sequence today after which director Ram Madhvani can call it a wrap on the project. By completing the film in only 10 days, the actor-director duo have pulled off a feat that is almost unheard of in Bollywood.

The thriller, which sees Aaryan as a journalist, went on floors on December 14 at Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel in Powai. The entire unit was tested for Coronavirus, following which they quarantined at the hotel. With the first two days dedicated to photoshoots, Madhvani called for action on December 16. "Since the unit comprised 300 people, the entire hotel was booked by the production team. The filmmaker and his team adhered to the necessary safety protocols, and ensured that no outsiders were allowed into the hotel. In fact, the hotel staff was also instructed to stay put during the period, thus creating a bio-bubble of sorts," reveals a source.

Owing to the nature of the story that revolves around a terror attack, most scenes of Dhamaka are set indoors. "Only a few action sequences were filmed outdoors, in locations close to the hotel," says the source.

If Kartik did three-week virtual workshops to become one with the character, the director designed a detailed storyboard to ensure that the team did not waste time on the floor. "Ram sir had planned each scene, including where every actor would stand and what the camera angle would be. Thanks to the intense prep, Kartik knew his character like the back of his hand. It saved the unit a lot of time. While the shoot went overtime on a few occasions, they would usually call it a day after eight hours of filming. Kartik, who had allotted 14 days to the film, was happy to wrap it up before time. This is the first mainstream Hindi film that has been shot in such a short period."