On Thursday, the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) cancelled permissions that were given for film and TV serial shootings in Goa in the wake of rising Coronavirus cases. After this decision by the ESG (Goa government’s nodal agency that grants permission for commercial shootings), there was chaos in the television fraternity.

Eleven TV shows relocated to Goa after shootings were stalled in Maharashtra last month and they are now left with no choice but to wrap up and return to Mumbai. The hunt for new locations has already begun. The shows that had shifted base to Goa are Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Mein, Aapki Nazron Ne Samjha, Shaurya Aur Anokhi Ki Kahani, Molkki, Bawara Dil, Kumkum Bhagya, Kundali Bhagya, Yeh Hai Chahatein, Apna Time Bhi Aayega, Tujhse Hai Raabta and Qurbaan Hua.

A few days back, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had announced a lockdown till May 3, but TV shoots were allowed to continue because they were filming in resorts and villas. However, now with the rising cases, the Goa government has decided to put a stop to all shootings for now.

While some production houses have decided to move back to Mumbai, there are a few others who are toying with the idea of staying back in Goa, and move to a new location straight from there. Says a source from a production house, “Returning to Mumbai and then to another location will be time-consuming and expensive, so some producers feel that it’s better to stay back in Goa and zero in on a new location. Among the options that they are looking at are Gujarat and Daman. However, some of them plan to return to Mumbai, so that if the situation in Mumbai improves they can resume shooting here.”

We spoke to a few actors who are shooting in Goa, who said that they haven’t been informed anything officially. Neil Bhatt, the lead actor of Ghum Hai Kisi Ke Pyaar Mein, told us on Thursday evening, “We haven’t been informed about the wrap up. We are still in the resort.” Shraddha Arya, the lead actress of Kundali Bhagya, said, “I have heard of the new rule, but we haven’t told anything yet. We have to wait and watch.”

When we reached out to Antonio Costa, President of the All Goa Line Producers Association, he said, “Whatever scheduled shoots were taking place, have been put on hold, as of 1 pm on Thursday. They’ve packed up and some of them are planning to move to Daman or Diu, since these two union territories are still open. These shoots are being handled by the line producers registered with us. There are a lot of other shoots taking place, which do not go through the loop, and which we term as illegal. They are out of our control. Whichever shoots were in the control of the ESG and our association have been cancelled.”

A few line producers from Goa, working on a couple of TV shows, also expressed their concerns. Shiva Naik, a line producer, said, “We wrapped up or called off all the movie and web series that were being shot in the state last month itself since the second wave hit and cases were rising. Health is of utmost importance. Only TV show shoots were going on, which have also been cancelled now. I think we need to take it easy for a while and start work only once the situation gets better.”

Sandeep Kotecha, who was working with production units of three TV shows in Goa, said, “It’s going to be a major loss. And this will have long-term effects since the situation doesn’t seem to be getting any better.”

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The Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), on Thursday, cancelled the permission granted to shoot films and television shows in the state in the wake of the rising cases. This has posed a difficulty for the units of as many as 11 shows that had shifted base to Goa in mid-April after the Maharashtra government imposed a junta curfew.

A prime example is Zee TV’s Apna Time Bhi Aayega, which was being filmed in the beach state over the past 20 days. With only a week’s bank of episodes, producer-writer Ved Raj says the team has no option but to quickly set up base in another location. “Hyderabad is one of the options. We are also looking at the possibility [of filming in] Gujarat or Daman. We have a bank of episodes till the coming Friday. So, the idea is to move to the next location, instead of returning to Mumbai to figure out the plan of action,” he says.

The filming of Ekta Kapoor’s popular shows, including Kumkum Bhagya and Molkki, was progressing smoothly in bio-bubbles. A source reveals, “All shoots have been halted since Friday morning. The makers of these shows are considering making an appeal to the authorities to let them continue shooting as they adhere to stringent safety norms. They will have clarity by Saturday.”