At least 35 members of a film cast and crew from West Bengal who are in Istanbul to shoot a movie in the country are all "safe", announced director Birsa Dasgupta on Saturday following the attempted military coup in the country.
The cast also praised the locals for support to continue filming as planned.
Actors Yash Dasgupta, Mimi Chakraborty, and Saurav Das are currently in Istanbul to shoot for Dasgupta's movie. Theatre personality and West Bengal IT Minister Bratya Basu is also among the team of actors.
"We are in Istanbul now but our shooting spans entire Turkey. Today (Saturday) is an off day for us but we are shooting some stock scenes. So far we have not faced any problems. When we were shooting, the coup happened. It is uncalled for.
"People were out on streets since Friday night. Everything is normal now. People have returned to normal life and they are celebrating the victory of democracy," Dasgupta told a local TV channel.
He said around 35 members are from Bengal while another 40 to 45 crew members are locals.
"There is nothing to fear. We are shooting the movie. People are supporting us," he said.
Addressing concerns expressed by the Bengali cine fraternity, the TV actor also took to Twitter to allay fears: "Nothing to worry... We r with Istanbul & Istanbul people are with us... Safe n ready to rock."
The death toll in Turkey's attempted military coup has risen to 90 with the number of injured going up to 1,154.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday declared an attempted military coup against his government as an "act of treason" and vowed to his supporters that the coup plotters will pay for the chaos.
Erdogen said the coup is now over and the government is now in control.
--IANS
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