Maharashtra Govt considering restart of film shoots

With a series of new guidelines, Maharashtra Government is ready to give the go-ahead to the entertainment industry for the resumption of shooting soon. This was decided after a video conference that took place on Thursday night between representatives of the entertainment industry and Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, chief secretary of Cultural Affairs, Maharashtra.

Representing the industry were Ashoke Pandit, chief advisor of Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), Apoorva Mehta and Madhu Bhojwani of Producer Guild of India, and Meghraj Bhosale from Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal among. Through video call, several issues related to resumption of shooting and other associated works of the media and entertainment industry were discussed.

The conference came to these conclusions:

Post Production activities should immediately start in line with all the health, safety and security norms and guidelines issued by the Government.

A proper financial package has to be worked out by the state government to facilitate the entertainment industry.

Premises owned by the state government should be given free of cost to producers and the production houses for carrying out shoots, along with the facility of single window permission.

There should be no rentals on the sets that are erected in the Film city, which are lying unused due to the lockdown. After the lockdown is over, premises in the Film City should be provided to producers and the production houses at subsidised rates so as to cope with the losses incurred due to the lockdown. The subsidised rates shall be applicable till the city regains its normalcy.

An SOI has already been submitted by the stakeholders of the industry. TP Aggarwal, president of Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association (IMPPA), said that Dr Sanjay Mukherjee has assured "that there have been serious discussions happening in the state government pertaining to the resumption of work in the media and entertainment industry."