People in Darjeeling are concerned about outsiders shooting there: Priyanka Upendra

Priyanka Upendra was shooting back-to-back for her

Kannada

films until early April and then took off to Darjeeling to begin work on her Bengali film, Master

Anshuman

. The film was slated to start earlier, but had to be postponed owing to the elections in Bengal. “The team began shooting in Darjeeling last week and I joined them on Wednesday. Since I got here from Bengaluru, there was some concern on the set. But I came with a COVID-negative certificate, so that was a big relief for my crew members,” she says. Having touched down in Kolkata from where she proceeded to Darjeeling, Priyanka shares that although there is no lockdown in Kolkata or Darjeeling, people are wary. “Especially in Darjeeling, there are very few cases of the virus. So, people are obviously concerned about outsiders shooting there,” she points out. Owing to the pandemic, the team has been divided into two. “There are 12 main artistes, so we will be shooting for our portions in batches to keep the crew minimal. Even though we are shooting with all protocols in place, whenever we are not giving a shot, we go away from the spot,” she explains. Priyanka adds that the outdoor portions are being shot first and the indoor bits will be filmed once the situation is better. “We are all responsible for ourselves at the end of the day. I am ensuring that I follow all guidelines both on set and otherwise,” she says.