The entertainment industry around the globe has been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Productions on all projects have shut, theatres are close, artists are out of jobs and whatnot. Actress and a CBFC board member, Vidya Balan, weighed in on the matter in an interview with Rajeev Masand. She revealed she was shooting for her film, Sherni, in a forest when the lockdown was announced. Kahaani Lockdown Replay: 10 Things We Learnt While Rewatching Sujoy Ghosh’s Thriller Starring Vidya Balan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

The actresses married to film producer Siddharth Roy Kapur, who is also the President of Film and Television Producers Guild of India. Rajeev asked Vidya about the insights of the business, since she is such an insider.  "You should actually speak to Siddharth for this," the actress replied.

She added, "But I do actually get a sense that no one really has a clue. Because this is an unprecedented situation. So, everyone is playing this guessing game. It is actually pointless because you do not know how it is going to be when this lockdown is released."

Vidya continued that she feels the film industry might not resume work for a long period of time. "I...everyone is feeling like the film industry is probably going to be the last to resume work. It is because of the density of the people on any film set. I am not talking about offices where scripts are developed or post-production. But when you are on set, there is an issue," she said.

"Also, when will people start going into theatres. I don't know. I believe someone was telling me that it will take theatre owners one month to get theatres cleaned, sanitised, and fumigated." LatestLY also published a piece saying that Sooryavanshi and 83 might not release right after the lockdown ends. 

Vidya and Rajeev also discussed how the AMC theatre chain has filed for bankruptcy. "There are going to be unfortunate incidents like this also," the actress said. "In terms of going back to the theatre, it is going to be the last thing people do because you do not want to be in an enclosed environment. Unless, we are able to find a vaccine sooner than later."

But the talk was not deprived of hope. Vidya, optimistically, added, "Every industry needs to be active for us to be able to sustain ourselves. But having said that, we can probably manage this time. We will be able to get through this. There are a lot of funds to help the daily wage labourers - dancers, junior artists, light boys, camera attendants, costume dads. I am so glad at least that's happening."

"There is also something called ADAA. A lot of events are getting cancelled. So, a lot of musicians, people who work on events, are out of jobs. It is heartening to know these funds are being set up," the access concluded.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 16, 2020 05:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).