The volcanic ashes from Iceland has floated all the way to Bollywood...and nearly crashed into one the most mammoth summer release.
Sajid Khan's mutilstarrer Housefull which releases next Friday (April 30) is in delivery doldrums. As per release rules the delivery overseas has to be made a week in advance of the release day.
Since most of the air traffic to Europe was still shut on Tuesday (with no sign of a partial let alone full recovery of flights for some days to come) Sajid Nadiadwala is in a state of panic.
"This is most unforeseen, " he said on Tuesday, stressed and sleepless running helterskleter looking for non-airborne means of transporting prints of Housefull to Europe.
Said the harrowed producer, "In all my years as a producer I've never encountered such a a crisis. There're about a 100 prints to be taken into the Europe. Air traffic has come to a standstill.
I'm hiring private jets to carry the prints to the nearest city with an open air base. From there the prints will be taken to various Euopean cities by train or road. I'm so desperate I'm ready to employ any means of transporation...planes, trains, automobiles, whatever is available."
The added expenditure incurred by the paralysis of air traffic in Europe is the least of Nadiadwala's worries. "It doesn't really matter how much money it would cost. The important thing is to get the prints to the European centres on time. Or else the entire overseas release would be affected."
The harassed producer won't rest easy until a solution to the transporation deadlock is found. "It's been one crisis after another for me. First the underworld threats then this volcanic eruption."
So stressed is Sajid that he hasn't been able to enjoy the completion of his next project Anjaana Anjaani.
Says Sajid, "Ranbir Kapoor had a wrap-up party for Anjaana Anjaani. But I wasn't able to attend because of the these two back-to-back crisis at my workplace. Now I'll celebrate only when Housefull is released properly everywhere."