The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India, which started in March, crippled production activities across the country again for more than two months. The state of Maharashtra was one of the worst affected states in the country. During the peak of infections, it recorded more than 50,000 Covid-19 cases for days in a row. But as fresh cases in Maharashtra are now declining, the state government has announced unlock plan.
As per the announcement, cinema halls in Mumbai will not be allowed to resume operations immediately, but shootings activities can be resumed. However, all shoots will take place in a bubble and no movement will be allowed outside after 5 pm.
Reacting to the government’s unlock plan, an industry insider tells a leading entertainment portal, “This is great news for the industry. A lot of shootings have been pending for a long time. Finally, the producers of these movies can heave a sigh of relief. Even the television industry will be happy. For a long time, a lot of serials have been shot in resorts in Gujarat and Daman. It was amusing to see that suddenly, so many daily soaps showed all major characters moving to a resort. But what choice did they have? Now they can finally head back to the city.”
However, he adds, “The rules are strict considering Mumbai comes under Level 3. But we have seen that the positivity rate has been falling in the city. I am sure that occupancy of oxygen beds too would reduce. If all goes well, in the next round, Mumbai might move from Level 3 to Level 2.”
Before shooting activities came to a grinding halt in March, several high-profile films were under production in Mumbai, including Yash Raj Films’ Pathan, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham, and Tiger 3, featuring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. Both big-ticket productions are expected to resume filming soon.
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