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“The Maharashtra Government on 31 May permitted the media fraternity to resume shooting of films, advertisements, TV and web shows with immediate effect. However according to the new guidelines, no person above the age of 65, pregnant women can come on the set. It is necessary to have doctors, nurses and ambulances on every film set to treat any suspected/ corona positive patient.”
“Besides, no one is allowed to say hello by shaking hands, kissing or hugging on the set. At the same time, heavy make-up should be avoided. The sets should be sanitised. Not more than 5 people can stay in a tent at one time and shooting the scenes like marriages in movies or serials is forbidden. An elaborate dance scene cannot be shot. Apart from this, everyone has to strictly follow social distancing.”
“With these guidelines many artists above 65 years, who are still active in the industry will be rendered jobless. The session 12 of the “Kaun Banega Crorepati”, a quiz show, hosted by Amitabh Bachchan was slated to start shortly. However now under these new guidelines, it is doubtful whether or not Amitabh Bachchan, who is 78 years old, will be able to host the show. Besides this, Bachchan is also involved in a sizable number of ad films and feature films.”
“The Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA), Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association (IMPPA) and other bodies have urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to modify these guidelines since they are more or less impracticable. They have also shared the guidelines issued by the Karnataka Government which they find more useful.”
“IFTDA President Ashok Pandit and IMPPA secretary Anil Nagrath, in their letters to Thackeray have pointed out that many artists above 65 years, are still active in the industry and many projects are on line. Pandit has pointed out that many senior artists are still active and have been engaged in work with different projects. The long list of senior artists includes: Dharmendra, Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal, Naseeruddin shah, Jackie Shroff, Mithun Chakraborty, Danny Denzongpa, Annu Kapoor, Shakti Kapoor, Pankaj Kapur, Dalip Tahil, Tinu Anand, Rakesh Bedi and Kabir Bedi.”
“Besides, there are many senior writers/ directors/film makers including Subhash Ghai, Shyam Benegal, Mani Ratnam, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Mahesh Bhatt, Anil Sharma, David Dhawan, Prakash Jha, Shekhar Kapoor, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Priyadarshan who are still active.”
“Also, there are a host of senior technicians, including cameramen, doing the perfect job regardless of their age. As such the decision to summarily ban senior persons is impracticable. Hence the ban on the artists above 65 years should be relaxed.”
“There are 65 to 70 sets a day in Mumbai. When it is difficult to get ambulance even for genuine patient, how an ambulance can be kept on every set? Pandit asked. Also it is not possible to accommodate all the crew members in the hotels, when most of the hotels are already reserved to accommodate expatriates, the people quarantined etc. The aged people are active also in other fields, including politics. Even though a precaution against corona virus is essential, all cannot be forcibly “retired” under the fear of the pandemic, Pandit added.”
“Rohini Hattangadi (69), the only Indian actress to win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress for her performance in Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi”(1982) said that “ the decision to perform should be left to the artist. If any artist is not confident of working, he/she will withdraw. There should not be an insistence.”
“Film Producer Nitin Vaidya said “As of now shooting of 110 series including 70 Hindi , 40 Marathi and 10 over-the-top (OTT) contents has been stopped and nearly 3 lakh workers and technicians have been affected due to the pandemic and the lockdown. At least 30,000 episodes are produced every year. While Rs. 5,000 crore have been invested in Hindi serials, the investment of another Rs.250 crore is in the pipeline. As such it is imperative that the shooting goes on unhindered.”
