We’ll no longer need 150 people on a film set: Juhi
From a time when the success of a film was gauged by the number of weeks it ran in theatres, to now when films are getting a direct-to-OTT release, actor Juhi Chawla has been there in the industry to witness the paradigm shift.
Hence, no wonder, on being asked about her take on the future of film industry and resuming shoots in Maharashtra amid the pandemic, she comes forth with a practical approach.
“Like we realised in life (during the lockdown) that we don’t need so many frills and fancies, we might also realise that on a set we might not need 150 people, and essentially make the film with just half the number,” the actor says.
Her views are in line with the government guideline of having only 33% crew on sets. And to illustrate its feasibility, the actor, 52, goes down the memory lane. “I was recently telling my family about the time when we travelled abroad for a shoot. In India, we had a crew of about 100-115 people. When we went to shoot Darr (1993) in Switzerland, we had just 32 people. We went for a month, and 50% of the movie was shot there, maybe more. Could you tell the difference on-screen?” she asks.
She feels that the presence of a large crew on film sets is often not required. “There’s an assistant, who wants another assistant, who wants one spot boy. Of course, there are projects that may require such numbers, but not always,” she says, adding that work is all that matters and when you push yourself, “it helps get things done”.
Sharing her experience from the lockdown, Chawla admits to having gone through a flurry of emotions. “When it began, I was a little rattled. ‘Will there be food?’, ‘Basic essentials?’, were some questions. But as days went by, I realised that even with the basics, you can actually get quite comfortable. I soon started to enjoy the fact that I didn’t have to do so many unnecessary things. Few days into the lockdown, the Mumbai air was clean; it never looked greener. I was in bliss,” she concludes.
Rishabh Suri