'Mulan' director opens up on coronavirus battle

"Mulan" director Niki Caro has opened up about the "difficult time" marked by the worldwide spread of the highly infectious coronavirus, and sent in her "deepest respect" to the people working hard to battle the disease.

Amid the global coronavirus outbreak, Disney's "Mulan" had a fashionable fairy tale premiere here. The cast attended the world premiere of the film.

Speaking from the stage at Dolby Theatre here, Caro discussed about the film, and COVID-19, reports usatoday.com.

"We hope Mulan's fighting spirit continues to inspire around the world," Caro said.

"Our hearts go out to everyone in China and the world over affected by the coronavirus and our deepest respect goes out those working so hard to battle this disease," Caro said, adding: "You are a living testament to 'Mulan' and you bring honour to us all."

In addition, the film's main lead Yifei Liu expressed concerns for her grandmother in Wuhan.

Liu was born in Wuhan, the epicenter of coronavirus and a city which has been under an unprecedented lockdown to contain the disease.

"My grandmother is still there," Liu said, adding that she was "fine".

According to deadline.com, discreet precautions were taken by the makers and attendees due to coronavirus fears.

There were hand sanitising stations placed throughout the red carpet area and the Dolby Theater area.

As attendees greeted each other, many were shaking hands and hugging, but there were also people who were asking for permission to hug or shake hands. There were many attendees who were taking precautions by giving an elbow bump rather than shaking hands.

Caro is bringing the epic tale of China's legendary warrior to life with "Mulan", in which a fearless young woman risks everything out of love for her family and her country to become one of the greatest warriors China has ever known.

"Mulan" features also features Donnie Yen as Commander Tung; Tzi Ma as Zhou, Jason Scott Lee as Bori Khan; Yoson An as Honghui; Ron Yuan as Sergeant Qiang; with Gong Li as Xianniang and Jet Li as the Emperor.

The Disney film's China release was delayed indefinitely in light of the coronavirus outbreak. The film is slated to release in India on March 27. IANS