BOLLYWOOD: THE BACHCHAN EFFECT
Not even a month into a wary, tentative resumption of operations, the Mumbai entertainment industry has already hit a few obstacles. When the Bachchans, barring Jaya, tested positive for Covid, Abhishek had begun to dub for his streaming debut, Breathe: Into the Shadows. Bachchan Sr was to shoot for Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 12 in September, but we’ll have to wait and see how that goes. Meanwhile, producers of Abhishek’s two films, The Big Bull and Bob Biswas, have had to factor in delays in the shooting schedule, given that the actor will be required to quarantine for two weeks after being discharged from Nanavati Hospital, where he is currently recuperating. The case of the Bachchans is a rude reminder that the industry’s road to recovery is fraught with challenges—and risks that not all might embrace with a ready smile. This, when film shoots have not even begun and theatres remain shut.
OTT platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, AltBalaji, Zee5 and
SonyLiv, among others, have used the disruption in the TV and film segments to their advantage by gradually releasing shows shot before the lockdown began. The post production for many has been done from home, including for Netflix’s upcoming show Bombay Begums. Last week, actors of the hit Amazon Prime show, Mirzapur, stepped out to dub for the latest season. Cast member Rasika Dugal wore a shower cap while in the studio to ensure there was no contact with the headphones. “They scheduled it in a studio closer home because I wasn’t comfortable using the restroom,” she says. “It made me feel safe.” Dugal will step out to dub again despite her wariness about Covid.
The small screen industry seems to have found its feet, though here too there have been stumbles. Shoots of two shows, Kausatii Zindagii Kay 2 (Star Plus) and Mere Sai (Sony), were paused after an actor and crew member, respectively, tested positive. Some other shows have incorporated face shields, gloves and sanitisers into plotlines, as was seen in a now-viral sequence from Star Plus’s
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.
Some, like actor Maniesh Paul, are back at work despite their families’ misgivings, “especially after news of the Bachchans broke”. Paul, who has begun hosting the Zee TV talent show
Sa Re Ga Ma Li’l Champs, says: “A lot of people will suffer if we don’t get back to work.” He has reduced the size of his entourage while paying their full salaries and carries his own mic and earphones to speak with the crew.
For Shibasish Sarkar, CEO, content, digital, gaming, at Reliance Entertainment and a Covid survivor, the film industry will take the longest to bounce back. “Unlike TV, which is covered by broadcasters, and web shows, which are covered by OTT platforms, a film producer will be reluctant to invest money in a fresh project because there is ambiguity [about] revenues,” says Sarkar, adding that he doesn’t see big projects resuming before October. The Bachchans’ case, he says, will serve as a reminder for people to be cautious.
Many production houses are hiring ‘Covid officers’. “I call them class monitors,” says Siddharth Anand Kumar of Yoodlee Films, which released Axone and Chaman Bahaar on Netflix during the lockdown. “They can’t be too polite.” Yoodlee will be among the first studios to begin shooting features—one beginning in Mumbai and another in Latur. With only 35 members per project, Kumar anticipates a “10-12 per cent” dip in productivity. The studio has rented a hotel in Mumbai for those who don’t have their own vehicles. “We have to form a sort of quarantine bubble. There is insurance for treatment, but none for interrupted shoots,” he adds.
THE BACHCHANS’ ENCOUNTER WITH COVID HAS BEEN MET WITH A WARY DETERMINATION TO CARRY ON NEVERTHELESS