Samarth Shandilya: Citing Bachchans’ example, mom did not let me shoot outdoors

Samarth Shandilya, who returned to his hometown Delhi recently from Mumbai, shot for a special episode of Savdhaan India: India Fights Back in the capital. "It was a one-day shoot in a bungalow at Barakhamba Road, so I decided to do it. But considering the current situation of the country, it is very difficult to shoot. You can sanitise everything, but you can’t possibly track each and every person's activity on a set.A lot of things have now slowed down because technicians are working with PPE kits, there are fewer assistants and way too many precautions, all of that takes time," the actor tells us.
The 'Perfect Pati' actor was supposed to continue shooting in Moradabad, but his mother was against the idea. "I was to leave for Moradabad on Sunday for a 14-15 day outdoor schedule, but my mother actually hid my suitcase and said that I can't go. I did inform her about the precautions the team is taking, but she was adamant and said, ;You can't go. When Amitabh Bachchan, who is so careful about everything, and family can contract the virus, you can get it, too. Stay at home'. Ab Bachchan sahab ka example koi kaise sideline kar sakta hai? I ended up staying home," says Samarth.

While he did shoot recently, the actor feels that resuming shoots right now isn't safe. He says, "Even though everyone around me was wearing PPE kits, people were using sanitisers, I did not feel safe at all. I also produced a public service film recently. My production house has a sanitisation tunnel, which everyone walks through before entering the office, and yet we felt unsafe. Resuming shoots isn’t the best idea right now, but a lot of livelihoods depend on it, so we can’t do much."