The Weekend film is eyeing a shoot in Russia’s remote Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, according to a Variety exclusive. The Indian romantic drama, titled Weekend, could become the first Indian feature film to shoot in Yakutia if the plan goes ahead. The report says producer Vivek Singhania’s banner Picture Perfect has signed a memorandum of understanding with local outfits Sakhafilm and Saidam Baryl to explore taking the production there. The memorandum is an agreement to explore the shoot, and it is the step that puts Yakutia on the table as a location for the film.
Weekend film and the Yakutia plan
The Weekend film plan centres on the memorandum of understanding signed by Picture Perfect with Sakhafilm and Saidam Baryl. Picture Perfect is the banner of producer Vivek Singhania, and Sakhafilm and Saidam Baryl are the local outfits in the Sakha Republic named in the Variety report. The memorandum covers exploring a move of the production to Yakutia, which means the parties will look at whether the shoot can take place there and what it would need. No shoot has been confirmed by the report, and the memorandum is described as a step to explore the idea rather than a final decision to film in Yakutia.
If the shoot goes ahead, the Weekend film would be the first Indian feature film shoot in Yakutia. That point is the heart of the Variety report, and it is what makes the plan stand out from a routine location choice. The Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, is in Russia, and the report describes it as remote. No Indian feature film has shot there before, according to the report, so a Weekend shoot in Yakutia would be a first for Indian cinema. The claim rests on the Variety exclusive, which is the only source named for the story so far.
Weekend film shoot still to be confirmed
The Weekend film shoot in Yakutia is still to be confirmed, and several basic details were not reported. No cast details were reported, so it is not known who will act in the film. No director was named in the report, and no dates for the shoot were given. No budget details were reported either, so the cost of the film and the cost of a shoot in Yakutia are both unknown from the report. The Variety exclusive gave the title, the genre, the producer and banner, the local partners, and the memorandum of understanding, and it left the cast, director, dates and budget unreported.
The parties named in the report are Picture Perfect, Sakhafilm and Saidam Baryl, and the person named is producer Vivek Singhania. The Weekend film is described as an Indian romantic drama, and the title is Weekend. The memorandum of understanding is the document that links the three outfits, and its purpose is to explore taking the production to Yakutia. That is the full extent of what the report says about the deal, and the report does not say when a decision will be taken or when filming might start. The plan is at the stage of exploration, and the next step would be a decision on whether to go ahead with the shoot.
What Variety reported
What Variety reported is a short set of facts: an Indian romantic drama called Weekend, a producer in Vivek Singhania, a banner in Picture Perfect, two local outfits in Sakhafilm and Saidam Baryl, and a memorandum of understanding to explore a shoot in the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia. The Weekend film would be the first Indian feature film shoot in Yakutia if it happens, and that is the point the report leads with. The report is a Variety exclusive, and it is the source for the story. No other source was named in the material given for this article, and no cast, director, dates or budget details were reported alongside the exclusive.
The Weekend film plan rests on the memorandum of understanding between Picture Perfect and the local outfits Sakhafilm and Saidam Baryl, to explore a shoot in Yakutia that would be the first Indian feature film shoot there.