Shahid Kapoor's 'Jersey' shoot suspended amid coronavirus scare

Mumbai: Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor on Saturday announced that the team of his upcoming film “Jersey” has decided to suspend the shoot of the film to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The 39-year-old actor took to Twitter to share the news with his fans and followers.

“At a time like this it is our social responsibility to do everything in our capacity to curb the spread of this virus. Team #Jersey is suspending shoot so as to enable all unit members to be with their families and in the safety of their homes. Be responsible. Stay safe,” Shahid posted on Twitter.

The actor, who had a great 2019 courtesy the blockbuster success of “Kabir Singh”, had been shooting for “Jersey” in Chandigarh.

“Jersey”, a Hindi remake of a Telugu hit of the same name, chronicles the story of a talented but failed cricketer, who decides to return to the field in his late thirties driven by the desire to represent the Indian cricket team and fulfil his son’s wish for a jersey as a gift.

A source close to the production told PTI that the team called off the shoot today “and have decided to take a gap for the nest 2-3 weeks”.

The Hindi version of the sports-drama is being directed by Gowtam Tinnanauri, who also helmed the original 2019 Telugu film, starring Nani in the lead.

Also featuring Mrunal Thakur and Pankaj Kapur, “Jersey” is being presented by Allu Aravind, and produced by Aman Gill and Dil Raju.

The film is slated to be released in August.

Various events, award functions, interviews, shooting schedules have been called off amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Akshay Kumar-starrer “Sooryavanshi”, which recently launched its trailer with much fanfare, has pushed the release of the film indefinitely. And “Angrezi Medium”, starring Irrfan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Radhika Madaan and Deepak Dobriyal, is braving the panic around the virus spread by going ahead with its release.

Tillotama Shome’s film “Sir” has been postponed. The release of Hollywood movies “A Quiet Place 2” as well as “Mulan” has been delayed.

Cinema halls have been closed in Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Karnataka and Mumbai to contain the virus that has been declared a pandemic by the WHO.

The deadly virus originated in China’s Wuhan city in December last year and has killed over 5,000 people and infected more than 134,000 globally.

The number of novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 83 on Saturday, which includes one death each from Delhi and Karnataka.