I have gone to Turkey on work and also on vacation, says Jeet

In the wake of the attack of Istanbul���s Ataturk Airport, the question haunting many is its impact on Kolkatans who had made travel plans to the country. Turkey, which hosts more than 30 million tourists in a year, is a favourite tourist destination for many Kolkatans. Not just regular tourists, Tollywood too has a soft corner for Istanbul what with as many as five movies already having been shot there.Come July 10 and director Birsa Dasgupta is supposed to fly to the same airport to complete the recce and begin shooting of his next film starring Mimi Chakraborty and Yash Dasgupta.
Jeet, who has shot six songs of two films in Istanbul, called up his shoot coordinator in Turkey after hearing the news. Speaking from Bangladesh, he said, ���Turkey is a wonderful place. Besides work, I have even gone there on a vacation with my family. I have a dear friend in Turkey too. Immediately after I got the news, I called up to check how he is doing. I shot ���Mon Majhi Re���, ���Jhinkunakur��� and ���Eche Joto��� in Turkey. For ���Shatru���, I also shot three songs there,��� Jeet said. The actor doesn���t mind going back to shooting there even after this attack. "I am praying that life in Istanbul returns to normalcy soon," the "Badshah" of Tollywood said.
Though the tension is palpable, Dasgupta doesn���t want to change his travel plans either. ���I will be off next with week my cinematographer Subhankar Bhar. I was 300 yards away from the Gateway of India when the blasts had happened. People have gone back to the same Leopold Caf�� days after the Mumbai blast. People travelled in trains the day after the Mumbai attack,��� he said. Life can���t go on is such attack gets people ���scared��� he said. Dasgupta is hoping to be able to start shooting by the middle of next month.
However, Shreya Banerjee, the executive producer of Shree Venkatesh Films, isn���t that sure yet. She has been constantly on the phone with the local coordinator in Istanbul who has given all the assurance. ���Birsa and I were in Turkey for the recce between June 3 and June 11. We were in Setiye when a blast happened in Istanbul. Two days later when we went to Istanbul, everything was normal,��� she said.
Film-maker Amit Sen was on a family vacation to Istanbul around the same time. ���I���ve been to Turkey at least 10 times over. On this trip, I went was on transit at the same airport on May 24 when we were flying to Prague. At the airport, we sampled some Turkish ice creams called Dondurma,��� he said. When he arrived again for his three-day trip to Istanbul from June 7, he heard of a police bus being bombed in the city. ���Unlike most other international airports, they do the X-Ray checks of the bags even when one is entering the airport. Security wasn���t that strict at the arrival counter though. Despite the bombing of the bus, life was pretty normal in Istanbul on the day we had arrived. People had bounced back,��� Sen said. Given an opportunity, Sen is ready to travel to Istanbul again.
During the recce of Dasgupta���s film, it was decided that the film will be shot in Istanbul, Edirne, Antalya and Cappadocia. The visual beauty of Antalya has become popular with directors keen on shooting Bengali film songs. Each film song shot in Turkey has cost approximately Rs 35 lakh. That includes two songs of Bonny and Rhittika���s ���Barbaad��� (���Esho na��� and ���Barbaad hoyechhi ami���) and Dev, Srabanti and Mimi-starrer ���Shudhu Tomari Jonnyo��� (���Egiye de��� and ���Sainya���). Two songs from yet-unreleased Dev and Nusrat Jahan���s ���Love Express��� have also been shot in Bodrum and Pamukkale. ���The next few days will be very crucial. Forty people from Tollywood were supposed to fly for this film shoot from July 12 till August 15. But as of now, we can���t say what will happen.���
Tollywood film songs shot in Turkey
1. Jeet-Subhashree���s ���Boss��� (���Mon Majhi Re���, ���Jhinkunakur��� and ���Eche Joto���)
2. Jeet-Nusrat Jahan���s ���Shatru��� (���Jaliye Puriye���,
3. Bonny and Rhittika���s Barbaad (���Esho na��� and ���Barbaad hoyechhi ami���)
4. Dev, Srabanti and Mimi���s Shudhu Tomari Jonnyo��� (���Egiye de��� and ���Sainya���)
5. Dev and Nusrat Jahan���s Love Express��� (Two songs)