The show goes on as film and TV shoots move to new locations for completion
The Hindi entertainment industry primarily operates out of Maharashtra, but now, everything has come to a standstill as all kinds of shoots have been suspended till April 30.
What’s keeping hopes alive, though, is work carrying on in other states across India. The team of Mohit Suri’s Ek Villain returns, including Arjun Kapoor and Tara Sutaria, has jetted off to Goa. Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon starrer Bhediya has had its team stationed in Arunachal Pradesh for over a month now.
Bhushan Kumar, co-producer of Ek Villain returns, tells us, “The sudden surge in Covid cases is worrisome. We stand by the decision to not shoot in Mumbai, but to meet the shoot deadlines, we’ve found the perfect location in Goa, and we’re abiding by the protocols.” A source tells us Adipurush was being shot in Mumbai, until the shutdown. “It was anyway a shoot against the green screen, so there wasn’t any hassle,” we’re told.
Last year where when the pandemic hit, filmmaker Milap Zaveri, too, had changed the location of his film, Satyameva Jayate 2, from Mumbai to Lucknow. “We support the lockdown and are standing united in helping the state and nation overcome this crisis, but the show must go on. Many livelihoods are at stake.”
Reliance Entertainment has four projects in various stages of production on floors, but all shoots have had to be stalled. Shibasish Sarkar, Group CEO, tells us: “If there’s a producer or director who has done it (shifted location), depending upon the story, it’s a good option in this situation. But the cases are increasing. I’m not sure how long it will be possible to manage.”
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says a lot depends on the story when it comes to shifting to a different shoot location. “The location is decided by the script. The scare is everywhere, not just Mumbai,” he says.
Several TV shows have shifted their shoot locations to various other cities. Sasural Simar 2, which goes on air next week, recently shot in Agra and plan to shoot more from there only.
Producer of Chhoti Sardaarni, Ram Singh decided to shift the shoot from Mumbai to Delhi, “It is not an overall lockdown in India. It is not tough to shift the location, you have to just create a bio bubble.”
Pooja Banerjee, who stars in Kumkum Bhagya, says their shoot has been shifted to Goa. “The public has to stay at home, and wants their shows, and we are trying to fulfil that,” she says.