I am happy that we continued to work: Nikkhil Advani

It goes without saying that the Covid-19 induced lockdown brought things to a standstill instantly – across the board. But among a very few, who continued to work throughout, in some way or the other, is Nikkhil Advani. Not just the filmmaker himself, his team – as well as his Andheri [Mumbai] office – has been functioning for weeks now. And Advani is “happy” that he didn’t let the lockdown completely dampen his spirits.

“We have been continuously working, for weeks now. And I’m happy that we continued to function throughout, as it kept me as well as my team in great spirits. As I always maintained, ‘for how long anyone could have locked themselves at home?’ In fact, my office, too, has been continuously open, with my team constantly working from there,” says Advani, who has a number of projects – films as well as web shows – in pre or post production stages.

While Kaashvie Nair-directed Arjun Kapoor-Rakul Preet Singh starrer went back on floors last week, the edit work on Kiara Advani-starrer Indoo Ki Jawani is believed to be over. “Milap [Milan Zaveri; director of Satyameva Jayate series] recently went to Lucknow for recce of Satyameva Jayate 2 [starring John Abraham], so that will start soon. Then, we have a show with Naseeruddin Shah [directed by Gauravv K Chawla] and then, the other series on Mughals is slated to start soon with Shabanaji [Azmi],” says Advani, who is also working on his next directorial, Gorkha starring Abraham.

Advani, whose co-production Bell Bottom [starring Akshay Kumar] is currently on floors in the UK, feels “great” that from next onwards, a number of other filmmakers are also readying to start work. “With all the social distancing measures etc. in place, we all have to start functioning at some point. People’s work has already suffered a lot,” he concludes.