Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; May 24, 2020)

After meeting the representatives of the Marathi entertainment industry, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a virtual meeting with a group of broadcasters and key TV producers, on Friday.

The 45-minute-long discussion centred around how the Coronavirus lockdown has impacted the business. The meeting, organised by the Indian Broadcasters Federation, was attended by Ekta Kapoor, J D Majethia, N P Singh, Puneet Goenka, K Madhavan, Rahul Joshi, Nitin Vaidya, and Deepak Dhar, among others.

Producer-actor J D Majethia, the chairman of the Indian Film and Television Producers Council (TV division), told us, “We highlighted the loss of jobs and the fatigue that is setting in with reruns on TV. Now that Kerala and Karnataka are on the verge of resuming shoots in their states, we could also look at rebooting operations. The CM voiced his concerns about red zones in the state. He was clear that the sets should not be anywhere near residential areas. He has set up a team that will examine all the locations that are currently being considered. Observing social distancing regulations and following the health advisories will be a must for us, which we have assured him of. All the affiliated organisations for technicians, actors and workers have formed a consolidated list of standard operating procedures, a part of which has already been shared with the CM. The remaining will be submitted next week. We also talked about setting up monsoon sheds for the sets and fire safety preparations before any shoot commences.”

Producer Nitin Vaidya added, “Discussions have also been held about starting post-production work. The CM is clear that the entertainment capital must get back on its feet and he does not want any producer to head out of the state to commence shooting. He is geared up to help us in every way possible. He has initiated the process by putting a team in place to help us find a workable solution to our issues.”