With movie theatres closed and film shoots cancelled, filmmakers are using the time to revisit scripts, plan new projects and introspect
Clockwise from top: Aditya Dhar, Neeraj Pandey, RS Prasanna & Renuka Shahane
On May 6, amid the lockdown, actor Amitabh Bachchan wrote on his blog that he had shot promos for the 12th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati and some social messaging videos after taking necessary precautions. He added that work that was scheduled for two days was completed in just one day. A day before that, Hollywood filmmaker Manoj Night Shyamalan tweeted that he had begun casting for his new film, which will be shot as soon as it is safe to do so. “I have been overwhelmed by the auditions. Recorded in homes all around the world. With such staggering numbers,” he wrote. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in heavy losses for the film industry globally, as theatres remain shut and shoots cancelled. The fate of films that were ready for release remains uncertain, while some producers are contemplating releasing them on over-the-top platforms. Director Shoojit Sircar is releasing Gulabo Sitabo on Amazon Prime Video. Several filmmakers, however, are confident of the industry emerging stronger from the crisis. And they are doing their bit towards this by scouting for locations from their homes, editing content that has already been filmed and refining scripts, among others. Forbes India spoke to four filmmakers about the future of the industry in a post-Covid-19 world. Cinema will bounce back: Aditya Dhar, Director, Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019)