The latest espionage action thriller of Bollywood, Bell Bottom, would be the first film to release in theatres after the second COVID-19 wave hit the country in April. This movie was completely shot during the pandemic, that too in national and international locations. Other than India, the cast of ‘Bell Bottom’, flew to Scotland to shoot while being in a bio-bubble.
The film’s director Ranjit Tewari opens up about filmmaking in a pandemic. Tewari says, ‘“Vashu (Bhagnani) ji and Jackky (Bhagnani) took the effort to bring the entire team together and fly them down. For me, the challenge was to create the film during the pandemic, when we were not supposed to meet or go out of our houses. Even the prep for ‘Bell Bottom’ was something new because we could not meet. We have done the entire casting and prep over video calls. Look and costume trials took place when we flew down to Scotland. All these things were really scary and challenging. I think it was a great initiative from the entire team to make the film.”
Bell Bottom: Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Huma Qureshi & Vaani Kapoor in Leading Roles
The film is based on a real-life event of the 70s and 80s and the time period aligns with the tenure of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Moreover, the movie derives its name from the lead actor Akshay Kumar’s character. Akshay is playing the role of a Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) agent, his code name is ‘Bell Bottom’. Vaani Kapoor playing the role of his on-screen wife. The cast also includes Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi.
The trailer amazed everyone when Lara Dutta was seen as portraying Indira Gandhi. Even Lara herself was surprised by the makeover, she said that she couldn’t figure out the transformation. Dutta says, “I couldn’t recognise myself. First of all, being offered to play the role of a personality like Indira Gandhi is a dream come true for any female actor. You wait for years to play such an iconic role on screen. But it is also needless to say that it is a tremendous amount of responsibility as you need to portray a legendary figure correctly on screen.”
The film is still not released in Maharashtra as the state hasn’t allowed the opening of cinemas. The film’s director and Akshay Kumar have expressed disappointment over the same.