Akshay Kumar's double shift, single-minded focus on sets of Bell Bottom

Akshay Kumar in an exclusive still from Bell Bottom

His co-stars often good-naturedly joke how they return home by five in the evening when working on an Akshay Kumar film. A stickler for discipline, the superstar is known to begin his shoots early in the morning and wrap up within eight hours, dedicating the evening to his family. However, the actor, who kicked off one of the first Bollywood projects post the pandemic with Bell Bottom, has altered his schedule to ease the producer's burden. Considering the unit had to practise the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon landing in Scotland, Kumar is working on a double shift to make up for the time lost.

A source reveals that the superstar proposed the idea to director Ranjit M Tewari and producer Jackky Bhagnani before they began filming in the highlands on August 20. "Being a producer, Akshay sir could understand how filming in the current scenario, complete with the quarantine and on-set safety measures, can be an expensive affair. He recommended that the team be divided into two units for a double shift. Over the past month, the cast has been happy to shoot in two eight-hour shifts, thus putting the thriller on the fast track," says the source. If all goes as planned, the principal photography of the Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi starrer will be complete in two weeks.

Bhagnani, who has been ensuring that safety measures are strictly followed, believes the superstar is a producer's actor. "When he suggested shooting double shifts, we were stunned and excited at the same time. Everyone the set is motivated to give their best seeing his discipline and respect for time. It's like a well-oiled machinery that is working round the clock."

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