Raashii Khanna: Shooting abroad as India battled Covid was upsetting

Hyderabad, May 28 Actress Raashii Khanna, who recently returned from Milan, Italy, after shooting for the Telugu film “Thank You”, reveals that shooting in a foreign location, while people back home in India struggled with Covid, upset her.

The actress says shooting in Italy was safe because people in the country very responsibly observed protocol.

“We were in the middle of the pandemic and I was at first scared to go there (Italy). Once there, I realised people in Italy were very responsible with wearing masks even though the second wave had passed. Very few people were shooting with us in the crew and all precautions had been taken,” she tells IANS.

“While I was there, the second wave in India intensified and I was constantly reading about what was happening in India. It was upsetting. It felt bad that our country was suffering and we were away. Now we are back and we can’t do much. It’s a helpless situation. We shot for what we had gone for, but it was upsetting humanly. We were constantly thinking about what was happening back home,” Raashii adds.

Raashii made her acting debut with Shoojit Sircar’s 2013 Hindi film “Madras Cafe”, and eventually forayed Telugu filmdom with hits such as “Touch Chesi Chudu”, “Tholi Prema”, “Venky Mama” and “World Famous lover”.

Talking about how Covid brought obstacles for the production team of “Thank You”, the actress says: “Honestly, there is always pressure to finish on time but I had a very good team that had taken everything under consideration and they didn’t put any pressure. We were all stressed about finishing the shoot as there were restrictions because we were from India. There were certain locations that were cancelled because we were Indians and there was this whole thing about the pandemic growing in India that went against us.”

She adds: “There were challenges that the production team faced but other than that we were really protected. There were days when we were shooting for 18 hours a day because we didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t like pre pre-pandemic that you could shoot at luxury and anywhere you wanted to. It was more difficult this time.”

“Thank You” will be her second release with Naga Chaitanya after “Venky Mama”, and Raashii says her role in the film will be relatable.

“People like me mostly in romantic films and that is what I have figured out. In ‘Thank you’ there is a nice part written for me. I think the audience will enjoy it because it is real. Usually sometimes we play over the top characters and I am known for my comedy in the south. This is something I am really looking forward to,” she signs off.