Coronavirus in Maharashtra: Fresh restrictions put film, television, advertisement shoots on halt

Tiwari further said that the industry is also ready to accept and adopt more stringent steps such as creating bio-bubble among others but shoots should be allowed to continue. (Representative image)

In another major shock to the film and television soap industry, the recent announcement of a new set of restrictions by the Maharashtra government will also halt film and television shoots. The new restrictions to curb Coronavirus spread will come into force in the state from Wednesday evening 8 PM as per the announcement made by CM Uddhav Thackeray, the Indian Express reported. The new set of orders titled ‘Break the Chain’ specifically mentions that all shoots of films, advertisements and television soaps will be put on hold till the current restrictions are in place.

The industry which employs a considerable amount of people was allowed to operate till now with instructions to avoid scenes which required huge crowds, background dancers etcetera. The shoots of the productions were also not allowed during weekends. However, with the new set of restrictions, all kinds of film, advertisement and tv soap shoots will be banned in the state. The major films that are directly going to be affected by the decision include Pathan which has Shahrukh Khan as the main lead, Amitabh Bachchan’s Good Bye and Salman Khan’s Tiger 3 among others.

JD Majethia whose production Wagle Ki Duniya is aired on SAB TV told the Indian Express that the industry supports the decision taken by the government but he also said that the industry would request the government to allow shoots with more stringent measures. Majethia further added that the industry employs a large number of people and also entertains large sections of society during these stressed times.

Echoing similar concerns, BN Tiwari who is the President of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees told the Indian Express that shoots should be allowed to continue as they did not have any role behind the large number of new cases. Tiwari further said that the industry is also ready to accept and adopt more stringent steps such as creating bio-bubble among others but shoots should be allowed to continue.

The entertainment industry in Mumbai has still not recovered from the Covid-19 shock last year that had put on hold all scheduled shoots for a period of more than six months. Before the recent restrictions, the Maharashtra government had also banned the functioning of theatres amidst rising numb