Covid Wave 2 - New Challenges for TV show makers

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Exclusive! Rising costs, creativity issues and uncertainty surrounding shoots...The challenges TV show makers face shooting outside Mumbai


(Pratigyaa 2, Sasural Simar Ka 2, Saathiya 2, Punyashlok Ahilya Bai, Ranju Ki Betiyaan - These TV shows and many more have relocated out of Maharashtra)

• After the state government imposed restrictions on April 15 owing to a surge in COVID-19 cases, shoots of TV shows, films and web series came to a halt.
  
• Many TV shows relocated to different places outside Maharashtra. While most of them relocated to Gujarat (Vapi, Umbergaon, Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot), a few relocated to Hyderabad, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Silvassa, Delhi and Daman.
  
• Around 12 shows had relocated to Goa, but after a lockdown was announced there on May 6, TV shows had to shift base again. Working in a new location and churning out fresh content is a huge challenge faced by the TV industry in the current scenario. Here’s a look at how production houses are managing to keep the show going amid the pandemic.

It’s financially draining to maintain two sets at the same time, say makers

• Moving an entire unit to a new place and setting base there incurs a lot of cost. Production houses have been shooting at resorts, bungalows and studios, due to which expenses have escalated. That apart, makers have to shell out money to maintain their existing sets in Mumbai. Producer Nitin Vaidya says, “Two of my shows, Punyashlok Ahilya Bai and Mere Sai — Shraddha Aur Saburi, have moved to Umbergaon. I have to maintain two sets and pay for the upkeep. Nobody wants to air re-reruns like last year, so we moved to a new location.”
• Producer Nitin Vaidya adds, “We understand that cases are rising and restrictions are important, but there has to be a solution to this.” Producer Pawan Kumar’s shows, including Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2, Santoshi Maa Sunayein Vrat Kathayein, Shakti Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki, Ranju Ki Betiyaan and Sasural Simar Ka 2 that are on air, are being shot at different locations. He says, “It’s not a joke to move so many shows out of Maharashtra. We are churning out fresh content every day, but following safety protocols, sanitising the sets and operating from different locations is adding to the challenges.”

‘No place is safe with cases of COVID-19 increasing’

• With COVID-19 cases rising across the country, producers are constantly worried about restrictions being imposed, due to which they would have to move to another location. This is exactly what happened in Goa, where units had to stop shooting after a lockdown was announced on May 6. Says a source from the TV fraternity, “Production houses are managing to air new episodes, but it is getting tough because there’s no certainty that shoots can continue uninterrupted given the rise in the cases across the country. Everyone’s hoping that things get better in Maharashtra and shoots are allowed to resume in Mumbai at some point.”
• From a creative point of view, too, shows are struggling. Pearl Grey, creative producer of Mann Ki Awaaz Pratigya 2, says, “Story lines have to be tweaked and our senior actors, too, haven’t been able to join us. So, of course, relocation hasn’t been easy. Creativity is suffering.”

‘The bio-bubble kind of a format is working for us’

• Makers say that the bio-bubble kind of a format, which they are following, has worked for them so far. Asit Kumarr Modi, producer of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, says, “We are shooting in Vapi, and the bio-bubble format is working for us in the current scenario.” Nitin Vaidya adds, “In the case of IPL, there were COVID cases because they moved from one place to another, but in the case of a TV show, we are not doing that. We are stationed at one place and are regularly testing people. The actors and the entire crew stay in a bubble.”
  
• The problem arises when actors or judges (in the case of reality shows) need to return to Mumbai to be with their family for a few days. Ranjeet Thakur, producer of Super Dancer, shares, “We test them every time they come back and before they enter the sets. We don’t let anyone shoot before we get their test results.”

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