Your favourite television serials, presently off air due to lockdown, are likely to resume from mid-June. After a break of over a month, shooting is set resume from May 25.
However, though the Kannada Television Association (KTVA) has secured permission from the State government and is gearing up for it, a section of veteran television producers are wary of the move and are unlikely to resume production anytime soon.
S.V. Shivakumar, president, KTVA, said the industry directly employs over 6,000 people, and had to resume work to ensure their lives are back on track. “We have decided to take all necessary precautions to ensure protection from COVID-19,” he said. A maximum of 20 persons on the shooting set, only indoor shoots, mandatory masks, gloves, packed food for everyone and all actors to bring their own make-up material are some of the precautionary measures being instituted. Beyond these, the KTVA has now mandated all producers to cover those working on the production under group medical insurance that covers treatment of COVID-19.
But not all seem to agree with the action plan KTVA has laid out. Sihi Kahi Chandru, a veteran serial producer, said he was still wary of restarting production. “Shooting has not resumed in any language yet, even in Kerala, where the pandemic is best managed. The channels have not pressurised us to begin production. I don’t understand why there is a hurry,” he said.
He raised several concerns. “Is it safe for a make-up artiste to apply make-up touching the face of an actor? The producer is responsible for his team and as one, I am not yet confident of the risk. Group medical insurance or other measures, our costs are going to shoot up. Moreover, if there is even one case, I will be held responsible and the entire team will go into quarantine bringing the production to a grinding halt,” he said, adding that resuming productions without giving it a careful thought was not advisable.
Meanwhile, there has been no road map for resumption of film shoots. D.R. Jairaj, chairman, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, said pre-production and post-productions of films has begun, but there is no clarity as to when they could resume film shoots. “On an average, there are nearly 35 people working on a serial shooting set. With the new guidelines there will be job loss of about 50%,” he said.