The 'Lion' star, who was in Mumbai filming 'Monkey Man' when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, shares what he witnessed before catching one of the last planes leaving India's largest city.
- Aug 15, 2020
AceShowbiz - Dev Patel has left his directorial debut dreams on the back burner in Mumbai due to the coronavirus.
The Oscar-nominated actor was in India's largest city filming "Monkey Man", which he also stars in, before he was forced to catch one of the last planes leaving the airport due to the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Mumbai during that time, it was kind of dystopian," he tells the Associated Press. "There's no cars or rickshaws on the road. It was empty. The hotel that we're staying at, those are eight of us. So it felt like 'The Shining' (horror movie), being in this empty, humongous hotel with all the lights switched off."
Dev managed to make it home to Los Angeles, California safely, noting Mumbai locals went "above and beyond" to help him return to the U.S.
Although he has seen his directorial debut stalled, he is still working hard as he self-quarantines at home.
"Even though we're hibernating, and we can't physically live in the world between action and cut right now, it doesn't mean that we can't be exploring ideas," he smiles.
Dev also recently wrapped filming fantasy movie "The Green Knight" with Alicia Vikander and Joel Edgerton, but the feature was also put on hold by the pandemic.
"The Green Knight", from director David Lowery, was initially scheduled to have its world premiere at the South by Southwest festival in March before the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus.
The original 29 May release date for the film was also scrapped and a new date has not yet been set.
