BOLLYWOOD: STALLED MOVIES AND UNEMPLOYED STARS
The closure of cinemas had a cascading effect on the Indian film industry. Filming was put on hold, a decision that impacted and film crew.
PTI
‘Dangal’ actor Aamir Khan takes his pet to a veterinary clinic in Andheri, Mumbai, India.
Globally, India churns out the most number of films in a year. But the coronavirus outbreak brought the Hindi film industry to screech to a halt.
The show cannot go on if movie halls across Mumbai and beyond are shut down for public safety. Bollywood lost more than Rs1 billion (around Dh50 million) due to closure of cinemas globally and the halt of film productions during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Cinemas have since reopened, but with limited capacity.)
Even a flop-proof actor like Salman Khan and blockbuster machine director Rohit Shetty were forced to put their grand plans on hold. The release of several big-ticket films such as Akshay Kumar-led cop drama Sooryavanshi, directed by Shetty, were postponed.
Sooryavanshi is an experience that we have created for you with over a year of dedication and hard work, and the response we received for its trailer was nothing less than electrifying and made it clear that this film truly belongs to its audience … We have been as excited as you are to present this film to you, but due to COVID-19, we, the makers have decided to postpone the release of our film, keeping in mind the health and safety of our beloved audience,” said Kumar in a statement.
A highly anticipated film, Sooryavanshi was scheduled for a worldwide release on March 24. Its action-fuelled trailer alone garnered over 86 million views.
More than a dozen films were scheduled to release in the April-June window. All of them had to be shelved.
ANI
‘Malang’ actress Disha Patani goes grocery shopping, following the COVID-19 safety protocols.
Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh’s sporting biopic 83, chronicling the life and times of cricket legend Kapil Dev and how he led India to a fairytale victory at the World Cup in 1983, did not release in summer as planned.
For the first time in several years, Salman Khan’s film did not light up our Eid festivities. His film Radhe: The Most Wanted Bhai , directed by Prabhu Deva, couldn’t finish its filming on time. Travel restrictions in India prevented the crew from going to Azerbaijan to shoot the climax.
The release of Sandeep aur Pinky Faraar, starring Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra, has also been pushed back. India releases more than 1,000 films a year, according to industry experts. So when filming and premieres were halted due to a nation-wide lockdown, tens of thousands of daily wage earners also lost their livelihoods.
In between, several actors had to battle COVID-19. Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek, Arjun Kapoor, Malaika Arora Khan and rapper Raftaar recovered from the virus. Bachchan has started filming the new season of Kaun Banega Crorepati after COVID-19 safety protocols have been put in place.
It may take a while for Bollywood to return to action and recover from the steep fall in business worldwide. Industry insiders are cautiously optimistic.