Sandalwood drug scandal: Will Ragini Dwivedi's film with Prem, Gandhigiri, resume?

Actress Ragini Dwivedi’s arrest by the CCB police in connection with an ongoing

drug scandal

came as quite the shocker to everyone. The actress was, after all, until only days ago, involved with Covid relief operations across the city. This apart, the actress was also committed to two films — an under-production film with Prem that she was set to return to soon, and a project to be directed by Prakash Belawadi. While the latter is only in pre-production and cannot take off till the pandemic abates, since it is a film that has to be shot in the USA, the makers of

Gandhigiri

were hoping to resume shooting by mid-September.

Director Raghu Hassan

says, “The entire team is in shock over the news of Ragini’s arrest. When I had spoken to her last week to discuss the shooting schedule, she was very excited at the prospect of being back on set. She had 12 days of shoot left for Gandhigiri, for which we had planned to shoot in Mysuru. With the recent developments, though, our plans are in jeopardy. Ragini was also supposed to shoot for a song, but given the nature of the case, we are not sure of the outcome and when she will be available.”
According to Raghu, the team was scheduled to resume shooting on September 17, but with Ragini’s police custody extended on September 7 for another five days and no clarity on her availability for the foreseeable future, they are in a fix.