Film institute closed due to swine flu scare

September 7th, 2009 MUMBAI - After making the entire film without any hiccups, it was a nightmare for Vipul Shah to shoot the climax song for Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan starrer "London Dreams", thanks to rains and swine flu in Maharashtra. We were stuck for the last song because of the rains.

August 19th, 2009 Malayalam actress Mamta Mohandas has had to cut short her professional commitments owing to her constant fever. The actress, who has also appeared in several Tamil and Telugu films, had signed on two Malayalam films, but she has been unable to work because of her fever.

August 18th, 2009 LONDON - English singer Robbie Williams fears that he has contracted swine flu. The Angels hitmaker posted on his blog that he is seeking medical advice to confirm whether he has it or not, reported contactmusic.com.

August 18th, 2009 MUMBAI - Director Vishal Bharadwaj's dark thriller Kaminey has turned out to be a goldmine, earning about Rs.330 million in its first weekend at the box office. Produced by UTV Motion Pictures, the fast-paced crime drama, released Friday, has made good business despite the fact that it wasn't released in major cities of Maharashtra the same day due to swine flu scare.

August 17th, 2009 If yet-to-release ‘Kanthaswamy’ is reported to be releasing with 900 prints, Bollywood’s recent blockbuster ‘Kaminey’ opened up with 1200 prints across the globe. Maybe, it would’ve been a disappointing weekend for Mumbaikars as ‘Kaminey’ didn’t open on many screens due to Swine Flu scare.

August 16th, 2009 MUMBAI - Bollywood admits swine flu virus has scared it but at the same time the film fraternity stresses that undue hype is not the solution. Many among them suggest that the best way out is to alert and warn citizens.

August 13th, 2009 CHENNAI - The cast and crew of Ajit starrer "Asal" returned here from Malaysia due to the spread of influenza A (H1N1) virus. They have been shooting there for the past month.

August 13th, 2009 MUMBAI - After being seen as a baddie with a heart of gold in the Munnabhai series of films, Sanjay Dutt is set to don the avatar of deadly gangster Ringmaster in "Aladdin". The actor will be seen as a villain who can inspire tremendous awe and fear in the audiences mind.

August 12th, 2009 The entire K-town is thrown into complete disorder with panic rising on swine flu. The epidemic disease has really caused more havoc in Kollywood as most of the filming schedules have been called-off.

August 12th, 2009 MUMBAI - Bollywood's leading film studios will continue with their shooting schedules though schools, colleges, cinema halls and malls in the city will be shut down from Thursday for a week to contain the spread of swine flu. "All shooting schedules are going on according to previous bookings.

August 12th, 2009 MUMBAI - Mumbai will have to wait. With Maharashtra in the grip of swine flu and the country's entertainment capital's malls and multiplexes shut down for three days, much awaited films such as "Kaminey" and "Life Partner" will give the city a miss as these are released worldwide.

July 5th, 2009 LONDON - Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series, was forced to take a break from filming the latest instalment titled "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" when he was hit by the swine flu. "It has just been confirmed that Rupert Grint has taken a few days out of filming due to a mild bout of swine flu," thesun.co.uk quoted his publicist as saying.

July 1st, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The Kerala film industry has lots more to cheer about - it is set to get a film institute, a film park and an archives centre, state Culture Minister M.A. Baby announced in the assembly Wednesday.

June 11th, 2009 MACAU - Oscar winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty says he wants to help a "technically talented student" and has decided to sponsor one student every year. Pookutty, who graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune 15 years ago, will sponsor a student of the institute.

May 23rd, 2009 MUMBAI - Director Rensil d'Silva shot a large part of his upcoming film starring Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi in New York last month and says there was no swine flu scare while filming. "There was absolutely no worries about swine flu.