Bollywood falls victim to swine flu scare

Mumbai, Aug 10 (PTI) Bollywood is the latest casualty of
the swine flu scare, with shoots being cancelled and actors
staying away from foreign locales in a bid to protect
themselves from the pandemic.

Director Karan Johar has cancelled a two day shoot in
Pune for his upcoming film 'Qurbaan' which stars Saif Ali Khan
and Kareena Kapoor.

Johar had flown in a 180 member crew for the shoot, but
decided to postpone it after 10 cases of swine flu were
reported from Pune.

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan too had commented about
the hoopla surrounding the flu which has been rechristened
H1N1 virus, on his blog, saying, "This has been causing
extreme alarm throughout not just Delhi but the entire
country. Panic is worse than the cause at times and I would
like to believe that that is what needs to be addressed
first."

Actress Sameera Reddy had her friends and family worried
when she came down with fever after a trip to Singapore.
Thankfully for Reddy, it turned out to be a case of a mere
viral, but she has cancelled her trips abroad to be on the
safe side.

When the disease was first detected in Mexico, Hrithik
Roshan had reportedly asked his 'Kites' co-star Barbarra Mori
to return to Mumbai.

While Indian celebrities like designer Leena Singh have
decided to stay put at home to avoid contracting the disease,
the swine flu scare has also forced Hollywood A-listers to
cancel their holidays.

US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey had cancelled her
trip to Goa in May and the Mexican premieres of many Hollywood
films were cancelled after the first reports of a break out
three months ago.

'Wolverine' star Hugh Jackman had cancelled a special
show in the country and Hollywood's 'It' couple supermodel
Heidi Klum and singer Seal decided against making their
annual visit to Mexico where they had wed five years ago. PTI
KKR