KOCHI: While the lockdown may have confined the Aadujeevitham crew to the deserts of Jordan, another Mollywood team found themselves stranded in Djibouti, a country in the Horn of Africa. The crew members of movie Djibouti, the shooting of which was completed, are now waiting for the lockdown regulations to be lifted to reach Kerala.
The 74-member team including actors Dileesh Pothen, Amit Chakkalakkal, Anjali Nair, Gregory and director S J Sinu are staying safe at a French villa in Djibouti. However, there is also a one-year-old kid, who plays a key role in the movie, along with parents, in the team.
“The movie narrates the tale of a one-year-kid, connecting Kerala and the African nation. The first set of crew members left Kerala on February 28 and the second batch on March 3. We commenced shooting at Djibouti on March 1. Life was almost normal here till March 12. By March 25, the lockdown was announced in Djibouti. The shooting was going on at Tadjoura, one of the oldest towns in Djibouti. We got good support from the ministry here and the shooting was permitted under strict regulations,” Sinu told TNIE.
Djibouti is the maiden movie venture of Sinu, who had earlier helmed one of the popular TV shows Uppum Mulakum. “We wrapped up the shooting on April 18. The producers, Jobi P Sam and wife Sweety Maria Jobi, are settled in Djibouti. We are getting good support from the Indian Embassy here. Moreover, the producers have hired an entire villa, in which there are more than 15 independent units.
We are now leading almost a life under quarantine, hoping that we will be able to return to Kerala as soon as the Union government lifts the lockdown,” he said. Sinu said since it is a small nation, most of the essentials are supplied from countries like Ethiopia.
“We have the necessary supplies for nearly a month. We have requested both the Union and state governments to help us return to our country as soon as the lockdown ends,” he added. The director said the crew members are all mentally prepared to go under quarantine as soon as they reach Kerala.