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'Jannat' Director Kunal Deshmukh Was Stranded On The Tarmac At Kathmandu Airport

'Jannat' Director Kunal Deshmukh Spent A Nerve-Wracking Day Stranded At Kathmandu Airport
Bollywood film director Kunal Deshmukh looks on during a press conference in Ahmedabad on April 28, 2012. Producer Mahesh Bhatt, director Kunal Deshmukh and Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi are currently promoting their forthcoming film 'Jannat 2' which is scheduled to be released on May 4, 2012. AFP PHOTO / Sam PANTHAKY (Photo credit should read SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/GettyImages)
SAM PANTHAKY via Getty Images
Bollywood film director Kunal Deshmukh looks on during a press conference in Ahmedabad on April 28, 2012. Producer Mahesh Bhatt, director Kunal Deshmukh and Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi are currently promoting their forthcoming film 'Jannat 2' which is scheduled to be released on May 4, 2012. AFP PHOTO / Sam PANTHAKY (Photo credit should read SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/GettyImages)

On Thursday, film director Kunal Deshmukh flew to Kathmandu with his partner Sonali Rattan for a school friend's wedding. Two days later, after a devastating earthquake hit Nepal just 77 km from the capital city, Deshmukh, who was at Gokarna Forest Resort, spent the night out on the hotel's golf course.

According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Deshmukh, director of 'Jannat', 'Jannat 2', and 'Tum Mile', kept in touch with actor Emraan Hashmi through his ordeal, which began on Saturday evening and ended reportedly on Sunday night.

Two days ago, when the earthquake struck, Deshmukh tried hard to get in touch with his family but, according to Mid-Day, it took several hours before they could hear his voice in a five-second call. Due to a seven-hour-long power outage, Deshmukh was also only able to keep texting Hashmi intermittently, but did manage to tell him that the hotel had been evacuated fearing aftershocks and that all the wedding's attendees were spending the night out on the hotel's 18-hole golf course.

The next day, they all reached the international airport hoping to board a 2:20 pm Jet Airways flight to Delhi. However, fresh tremors on Sunday caused the cancellation of that flight as well, and also of a subsequent one at 5:15 pm. By now, Deshmukh and his friends were camping on the tarmac with no plans of returning to their hotel. "It's crazy but at least my friends are together. I think rations are running low at the airport. Since all commercial flights have been cancelled, the Indian Air Force flight is the best bet," he told Hashmi, according to Mirror.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt was also in touch with Deshmukh and Sonali and kept tweeting about their condition through Sunday.

Just talked to Kunal & Sonali. They r both sitting on the Kathmandu runnway waiting for an aircraft to carry them back HOME.

— Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) April 26, 2015

"The people of Nepal are doing everything possible to help us..." He said as the ground below his feet shook!

— Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) April 26, 2015

Kunal says: Jet flt is suspended .Airforce has promised to get all of us out .They are setting up tables for chai, parathas & puri bhaji.

— Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) April 26, 2015

Kunal says:There are over 2000 people on the Indian embassy list waiting to get onto an airforce place . The airport has run out of water .

— Mahesh Bhatt (@MaheshNBhatt) April 26, 2015

However, at around 8:40 pm, while the airport was getting colder and more uncomfortable, Hashmi reportedly received a message from Deshmukh saying that their Jet Airways flight was "expected" to land soon, and commercial flights seem to have resumed landing. At this point, there is no confirmation as to whether Deshmukh and Rattan actually managed to board that flight.

The button below indicates how much has been raised on Crowdrise's "Nepal Earthquake Relief" page. Click to visit the site and donate.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.