Sanjay Gupta is all for a leaner film crew
Last month, shoots of many TV shows resumed for the first time since March-end. Now, Bollywood filmmakers are also gearing up to get back to work. And among them is Sanjay Gupta, who will soon hit the floors to complete work on his next, Mumbai Saga. While many are concerned over how they will meet all safety guidelines specified by the government, especially those stipulating smaller crews for shoots, Gupta isn’t worried at all.
“I am sure I wouldn’t have any issues. Over the last eight to 10 years, we have seen the number of crew members on the sets go up considerably. Often we don’t need so many people on the sets. Nowadays, when I walk into my set, the sheer size of crew amazes me. I have been making films for over 25 years now, but I fail to understand the logic behind having so many people [on sets],” says the filmmaker, who started his directorial career with Aatish: Feel The Fire (1994).
In fact, Gupta recalls how things weren’t the same even till late 2000s. “I remember even when we made Shootout At Lokhandwala (2007), the crew size was about 50-60 people. These days, everyone – be it the costume team, makeup artistes or even set designers – comes with a set of assistants. So, in essence, for the work that was earlier done by 60-70 people, we have close to 200 people now,” says the Kaabil (2017) director, adding that limiting the crew size will “only cut production costs”.
“It would, of course, be sad that some people may not be required [for work] under the given circumstances. Yet, at this point, I don’t think we have any other choice but to go back to our old days and style of working with maximum of 40-50,” says Gupta.