Kannada director calls off shooting in Canada due to swine flu

Bangalore, April 30 (IANS) Kannada director Prem has called off shooting two songs of his film 'Raaj' in Canada due to swine flu.

'We had made plans to shoot the songs in Canada. We wanted to capture the beautiful locales of Canada like never before. But now our plans have gone haywire,' director Prem, who was all set to fly to Canada with the entire crew in first week of May, told IANS.

Except the two songs, the shooting of the rest of the film is complete.

The shooting of the two songs was delayed because Nisha Kothari was busy shooting for Ram Gopal Varma's 'Rann'. Now the songs will be shot here with Puneet Raj Kumar and Nisha.

'We shot outdoor and on specially erected sets. We will decide in two or three days whether to shoot the songs in any other part of India or on sets,' said Prem.

'Raaj' is being made at a budget of Rs.100 million, which makes it the costliest film to be made in Kannada.

It was launched April last year and was scheduled to hit the screens April 24 this year coinciding with the birth anniversary of Kannada movie icon Raj Kumar. Now the film will be released in June.