A host of actors diagnosed with Coronavirus, stalled shoots and postponed releases — is 2021 looking like 2020? On Sunday, the Maharashtra government announced it is again shutting down theatres and multiplexes, to stem the spread of the virus.

Industry people certainly do feel history is repeating itself. Just when the momentum was building up, with 25 films announced since January, the latest spike in Covid cases including Akshay Kumar (who was shooting for Ram Setu), R Madhavan, Kartik Aaryan (shooting for Bhool Bhulaiya 2) and Alia Bhatt, sort of shook everyone up.

As trade analyst Taran Adarsh puts it, “Producers had started announcing release dates, now there’s this spike especially in Mumbai. The first quarter has not been great for the Hindi film industry. Akshay had so many projects, now Ram Setu has stopped. For that matter, any actor coming down with it, has repercussions.”

In 2020, Bollywood did a business of almost ₹600 crore in the first three months until Covid struck. Hollywood films too were doing exceedingly well, with business estimated at ₹750 crore in 2017, ₹950 crore in 2018, and ₹1,240 crore in 2019. However, in 2021, all Bollywood could manage with limited releases in the first quarter was ₹50 crore, says trade expert Atul Mohan.

April itself had two big releases set for release, Akshay’s Sooryavanshi and Kangana Ranaut’s Thalaivi. Mohan says they’ll be postponed again because Maharashtra is a big market. “Maharashtra contributes around 40% of net collections. The closure of cinema halls has come again. OTT releases are always on the cards, but every maker wants the big screen,” he says. May has Salman Khan’s Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai and Satyameva Jayate 2 lined up for release. Milap Zaveri, director of SJ2, couldn’t be reached till the time of going to press.

Kartik Aaryan’s film Bhool Bhulaiya 2’s shoot stopped after he tested Covid positive, he is negative now.

Makers of films whose actors have fallen prey to the virus say technicians get affected too. Anees Bazmee had begun shooting after a year, for Bhool Bhulaiya 2, but Aaryan was diagnosed with the virus. “We were shooting with a lot of precautions, and got a lot of people vaccinated as well. But apart from actors, even directors have got Covid. If things move like this, there will be a time when shoots might stop altogether,” he rues.

Ashoke Pandit, chief advisor, Federation of Western India Cine Employees, says makers have their workarounds for such scenarios. “If an actor falls sick, makers can shoot the portions without them until they get fine,” he reasons.

However, according to Akshaye Rathi, exhibitor, this can’t apply to every film. “Most of these actors have the lion’s share of screen space in a film. If any of them falls sick, they are out of action for 15-20 days. It won’t result in complete closure, but there would be a loss of money on the shoot,” he says.