Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor shot each other for short film Family, Nick Jonas turned cameraman for Priyanka Chopra

Indian film stars such as Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan and others came together last week for a special short film on social distancing during coronavirus. Titled Family, the film was shot in the respective stars’ own homes, by their friends and family members.

In an interview with PTI, ad filmmaker Prasoon Pandey gave details on how the creative idea was pulled off by the stars. He said that Alia and Ranbir, who have moved in together amid the lockdown, filmed each others’ portions. He also mentioned that Priyanka Chopra’s scenes were shot by her husband and singer Nick Jonas. The couple is currently in self-isolation at their Los Angeles home.

“Amitji’s portions were shot by Abhishek. Nick Jonas shot Priyanka’s segment, Rajinikanth ji’s was shot by his daughter Soundarya. Ranbir and Alia went behind the camera for each other. Everyone was so gracious. They didn’t come into the frame, but they were simply helping. They were so selfless,” Prasoon said. He added that his son shot the a template video with him portraying all the characters, to give the stars a better idea about what is expected.

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“We sent that to all the actors so that they could see each shot precisely, [including details of] how to frame [each shot], and in which direction to look, so that it could connect to the next shot. I sent it on April 2, and told them it would be great if they could shoot it by the next day, and they didn’t bat an eyelid. They started shooting on April ,” Pandey added.

Prasoon said he first came up with the idea when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has praised the film on Twitter, announced the nation-wide lockdown of 21 days. He discussed with his brother, renowned adman Piyush Pandey, about making a short film that is shot, edited and acted while staying at home.

PM Modi tweeted on Tuesday: “You can be distant and you can be social. A great video with relevant messages. Have a look.” The film talks about how staying at home, staying safe, maintaining hygiene, working from home and maintaining social distancing can be productive. At the end of the video, Big B also appeals in favour of the film industry’s daily wage workers who are currently left with no income owing to complete halt in filming activity due to the lockdown, which began last month.

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