The 21-member crew of Mohib Mirza’s feature film, ‘Ishrat — Made in China’, which has been stranded in Thailand for the past more than two weeks now, as flights kept getting cancelled amid fears of coronavirus pandemic, is expected to finally return to Pakistan on April 14.
Actor Shamoon Abbasi, who is part of the unit along with Sanam Saeed and Sara Loren, spoke to Gulf News tabloid from his hotel room in Kanchanaburi, a small but highly scenic town located in the lap of mountains some 3-and-a-half hours’ drive from Bangkok, where they completed a major shooting spell. The Durj star said, “We wrapped up [the shoot] over a fortnight ago. Since then we’ve been holed up in this hotel.”
He also said that giving (hotel) stay to so many people for an extra few days had caused huge stress on the production budgets.
Abbasi lamented the fact that not every actor in the crew had come forward to throw their weight behind Mirza who was struggling with finances and other issues related to production. “It was their choice,” he added. “But I definitely stood up, and campaigned for the safe return of not just us but all those Pakistanis who’re waiting to get back home. I was constantly in touch with Pakistan’s Ambassador to Thailand, Mr Asim Iftikhar, and the Counsellor, Colonel Humayun Mujtaba. Besides, I was corresponding with the Pakistan government officials, and also requested the actors’ community to intervene and become our voice in Pakistan.”
Earlier, ‘Ishrat — Made in China’s’ producer-director and lead actor Mirza posted a video message on his Instagram account in which he appealed to the government of Pakistan, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Film Producers’ Association, and Actors’ Collective Trust (ACT) to help arrange their safe return. He gave reassurances that the entire team was in perfect health and had followed the necessary precautionary protocol every single day on the sets and location, with the help of local paramedics.
‘Ishrat…’ is said to be an action comedy. It also features Nayyer Ejaz and fashion designer HSY as villains.
