The Coronavirus pandemic is looking to be the biggest shutdown ever for Hindi cinema with the worst seen before being in 2009 when there was no major release for around 2 months though small films did release on limited screens. This is going to be a longer shutdown if we go by China where cinemas have some chance of opening in a few weeks time which would mean a 3 month shutdown. It is being reported that the biggest theatre in Wuhan where the pandemic started was disinfected yesterday getting ready to open up.

So with the huge problems in US and Europe, the 3 month period looks a minimum for this shutdown and its not that too if everything goes back to normal as soon as cinemas open up. There is fear in the industry that this will change cinema forever for the worse but that's an unlikely scenario. The only horrible scenario is that a vaccine for this pandemic proves hard to find as that will for sure change cinema forever. But considering where medical science is around the world today, you would expect someone somewhere to find one.

Obviously the industry in this scenario takes the negative side as they see films with lower budgets and stars cutting fees to help out when that is not probably the need of the hour as the audience that was there has not run away. However, there is a huge global pandemic which does not allow socializing and eventually things will come back to how it was before. However, there is no time frame as to when that'll happen. Its always weird the industry always expected stars to cut prices in bad times but that has never really happened. It is all supply and demand and these prices are not forced. Also its a totally star driven industry and until you find the technique or content to drive the industry, then star prices will only go one way and that is up.

The last shutdown in 2009 did see higher occupancy at multiplexes and that was even though 2009 did not have huge event films. But that was not a health scare also so the likely scenario is that the higher occupancy will come this time as well due to pent up demand. But it will not be straight away and may take some time but eventually they will be higher as the health risks diminish.

There have been four major shutdowns in the last fifty years or so and after each one, there has been an uptick in average box office occupancy for a period. In March 1968 there was a shutdown of releases and shoots for 19 days due to high rental charges in North and CP, CI, Rajasthan. The mega BLOCKBUSTER RAM AUR SHYAM was one week away from a silver jubilee in many theatres when this shutdown came. Post the shutdown there was a line of big HITS and successful films.

In October 1986, there was a halt of releases in Mumbai due to huge taxes which were around 170% in Maharashtra. Films did continue to release in other circuits and DOSTI DUSHMANI and INSAAF KI AWAAZ proved to be HITS during the strike while NAGINA, which released a week after the strike was halted, was a blockbuster. The tax was so bad that there were some films having a 10 lakh total GROSS collections and the share to the distributor was just one lakh. This bandh lasted 31 days.

The tax problem in Maharashtra returned in January 1997 and there was a shutdown for a month with no major releases. The state government had bought down entertainment tax to 50% in September 1984 and it was going back to 100% from January 1997 which led to cinemas shutting in Maharashtra and no big releases. The casualty was AJAY which only had a one week run in Maharashtra. When the cinemas opened up in February, there was a flood of grossers like JUDWAA, HERO NO 1, ZIDDI and KOYLA.

Then in 2009, there was the longest strike due to a revenue sharing issue between multiplexes and distributors/producers. The cinemas did remain open so there was no causalities but there was not a major release for almost 3 months. All the chains saw better average occupancy for six months after the strike then what they saw for six months prior to the strike.

So there is hope that cinema will come back stronger when the things are back to normal though it will take time as all the other closures were industry problems and here its a huge global issue. A good result will be if things get going sometime in the third quarter but due to westerns countries having the worst of the pandemic, the fourth quarter may be when the bigger films come and there could be a line of them.

MUMBAI MIRROR (July 3, 2019)

Hrithik Roshan may have got to showcase his skills to the masses with his launch vehicle Kaho Na Pyaar Hai in 2000, but the 45-year-old actor’s first audience was Madhuri Dixit. On Monday, Hrithik shot for a guest turn on the reality show Dance Deewane, which features the actress as one of the judges.

During the shoot, Madhuri who was the leading lady of Rakesh Roshan’s Koyla, revealed that the actor had worked on the film as an assistant director. “One day, I had gone to Rakesh ji’s house for a narration and saw Hrithik rehearsing something in front of the mirror,” she said, adding that when he was done, she broke into an appluase.

During the show, the duo performed on the Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai title song, “Ghagra” and the Koyla track “Ghoongte Mein Chanda”. A contestant’s performance on Hrithik’s biggest hit from his debut, “Ek Pal Ka Jeena” made the actor nostalgic. “I am happy to see that the song is still trending,” he exclaimed, rounding off his turn on the show by shaking a leg with the young contestants.

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; October 25, 2015)

Mary Kom’s biopic, starring Priyanka Chopra, was not shot in the boxing champ’s home state, Manipur. The makers preferred to opt for Himachal Pradesh instead. The North East has not been on Bollywood’s radar as a shoot locale. The seven sisters — the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura — despite their pristine locations, are missing from Bollywood’s map.

Over the years, producers have preferred to log air miles to East European nations (Bollywood’s current hotspot) or traverse from Alaska to New Zealand.

As National award-winning filmmaker Jahnu Barua, who hails from Assam, points out, “The rest of India has been allergic to the North East since independence. There is this fear psychosis as it is the border area. They just do not want to take notice of the region.” Fortunately, that seems to be changing now.

Play it loud
The sequel of 'Rock On!!' (2008) is presently being shot in Shillong, Meghalaya. The film revolves around a music band, and Meghalaya is emerging as the rock capital of India.

The makers of the film — which stars Farhan Akhtar, Shraddha Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Prachi Desai -- wanted to capture the music festival scene in Shillong which is now on the go-to-list for rock music aficionados.

Filmmaker Biswajeet Bora, who is from Assam, points out, “Most filmmakers feel it is not feasible to shoot with big stars in the area due to the lack of fancy five-star hotels, but things have changed a lot in the region. They have to put their fears to rest.”

Bora shot his recent film, 'Aisa Yeh Jahaan', starring Palash Sen and Ira Dubey in the Golaghat district of Assam.

Another project
Close on the heels of the 'Rock On 2' unit, is Vishal Bhardwaj, who is shooting his Saif Ali Khan-Shahid Kapoor-Kangna Ranaut starrer 'Rangoon' in Arunachal Pradesh. Knowing B-Town’s herd mentality, this might just have others following suit.

As 'Rangoon' is set against the backdrop of World War II, the region lends itself as the perfect location. Bharadwaj’s film will unfold in Ziro valley in Arunachal Pradesh which is considered a heritage site.

With two film productions in the North East, Bollywood is likely to wake up from its slumber and tap the region’s full potential.

Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal was part of a task force to develop the region as a shoot location. He says, “Five years ago, the Meghalaya government was keen that Hindi films be shot in the state. I was part of the initiative to promote it as a destination, but we had just one meeting and then things became quiet on that front.”

Benegal visited several breathtaking locations in the state. He says, “I wish I could have shot a film there. When I visited the place, I was stunned by the natural beauty. The Meghalaya government showed great interest. We visited several spots in the state which could be ideal locations. They were keen to offer several incentives to attract filmmakers, but things did not take off.”

Logistical issues
What Benegal saw as a possible deterrent were the connectivity and infrastructural requirements. As he puts it, “A film unit consists of a large number of people all their needs have to be taken care of.” But Barua feels what matters more is the mindset, rather than the logistics, “People need to understand the region. They need to know about the area. Due to the Mongoloid physical features of the people, they are considered to be different from the rest of the country.”

Barua always shoots his films in Assam to highlight the culture and politics of the state. “Most Bollywood stories do not match the North East region. The stories do not reflect the people of the region. They feel you cannot have people with Mongoloid physical features in their films. It is all in the thinking; it needs to change.”

This sentiment is echoed by actor Adil Hussain, who is from Goalpara in Assam. Best remembered as Sridevi’s husband in 'English Vinglish' (2012), he says, “It is because of the attitude of the political class that the area has been neglected. Films are being shot all over India, even Kashmir. Bollywood only looks at commercial viability. It is driven by profits, rather than art. They would rather go to an exotic foreign locale than go to the North East. The North East is considered a sensitive area, they do not want to put their money at stake by shooting in the region.”

Birthday blast
In November 2013, when Aamir Khan chose to bring in his wife Kiran Rao’s 40th birthday in Assam, it at least made Bollywood realise the region’s tourist potential. The star was accompanied by filmmakers Karan Johar and Ayan Mukerji. Though they raved about the state’s natural beauty, planning a film in the state remained a distant dream.


Unsafe terrain
Safety seems to be a big concern for filmmakers. Benegal explains, “Decades of insurgency and unrest has a lot to contribute to Bollywood skipping the north east. But Bora has a different opinion, “Things have changed a lot now. There were issues, but all that is now the past. There are several Western tourists who visit the Kaziranga National Park in Assam. Meghalaya has already become a rock music hotspot, so why can’t Bollywood shoot here?”

Things may be changing, but as Barua maintains mindsets do not alter, at least not soon.

“The people of the terrain have gone through a lot,” says actress Ira Dubey, who shot in Assam for her film, 'Aisa Yeh Jahaan'. “There have been natural disasters and political unrest, but what I observed after spending time in Assam during the shoot, was the resilience of the people. There is so much positivity, the people are warm and clean-hearted.”

Ira also learnt the Assamese folk dance, Bihu, for a song (pictured, above). “It looks simple, but there are some delicate hand movements which you have to get right.”

Talking about her experience of shooting in Assam, she says, “There was a scary episode when we were flying in a chopper from Arunachal Pradesh to Assam. We had to do an emergency landing, but we were fine. Later, I learnt that the two pilots, who had flown us, had perished in a crash.” So is this fear psychosis that makes industry folk keep off the North East for shoots? Mary Kom (pictured below) director Omung Kumar chose not to comment about why he did not shoot in Manipur for his film. But for his upcoming biopic on Sarabjit Singh, he plans to shoot in the actual locations in Punjab.

So why did he skip Manipur? He has no answer — like most of the B-Town folk who just do not seem to want to tread the region.




When Bollywood made an exception

>> Deepak Bahry’s 'Kurbaan' (1991) with Salman Khan and Ayesha Jhulka was shot in Shillong in Meghalaya. The red jeep used in the film by Sallu belonged to a local store owner in the Laban area of Shillong, who became a star himself after the shoot.

>> Rakesh Roshan’s 'Koyla' (1997) starring Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit was shot in Arunachal Pradesh. One of the film’s tracks, Tanhai Tanhai, was filmed in the Shungetser Lake and Nuranang Falls in the Tawang district of the state. After the shoot, Shungetser Lake came to be referred to as the Madhuri Lake.

>> Kalpana Lajmi shot her Naseeruddin Shah-Shabana Azmi starrer 'Ek Pal' (1986) in Shillong, Meghalaya, and Jorhat, Assam. Her Raveena Tandon-starrer Daman (2001) was shot in Guwahati, Assam.

>> Jahnu Barua’s 'Har Pal' was shot in Shillong, Meghalaya, with Preity Zinta and Shiny Ahuja. It was filmed in 2007, but did not see light of day.

Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; August 27, 2014)

The upcoming Priyanka Chopra-starrer Mary Kom, based on the boxing champ, has put the spotlight on the North- East and its presence in Bollywood. Several local actors have been roped in to play supporting roles in the film. There may not be too many Hindi films releasing in many states in the region, or as many actors, musicians, filmmakers from the region that have made — or are trying to make — an impact on the big screen.

Finding a foothold
Adil Hussain, who is from Goalpara in Assam, essayed the role of Sridevi’s husband in English Vinglish (2012).

Patralekhaa (top), who was seen in Hansal Mehta’s Citylights earlier this year with beau Rajkummar Rao as her co- star, is from Shillong in Meghalaya.


Geetanjali Thapa won the National Film Award for Best Actress ( 2013) for her performance in Liar’s Dice. She is from Sikkim and began her glamour innings after winning a beauty pageant in Guwahati, Assam.

Veteran actor Danny Dengzongpa is also from Sikkim.


B-Town singers Zubeen Garg is from Jorhat, Assam, while Papon (above) is from Guwahati in Assam.


Model Monikangana Dutta, who hails from Guwahati, starred in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Guzaarish (2010) playing the character of Hrithik Roshan’s ex-flame.

Meanwhile, Reema Debnath from Agartala in Tripura featured in the Salman Khan-starrer Bodyguard.

The outsiders
Shah Rukh Khan- starrer Chak De India! (2007), for one, showcased Mary Ralte (Kimi Laldawla) from Mizoram and Molly Zimik (Masochon Zimik) from Manipur — in the film, both are treated as ‘foreigners’ in the Indian women’s hockey team. Being looked upon as outsiders is something that they are used to. When told that they are from the North- East, it is as if they belong to another territory.

For some artistes like Patralekhaa, it is a sense of déjà vu. Says the actress, “I am always asked such questions and I do not want to say anything more on that front. I am from Shillong in Meghalaya and my parents still live there.”

While Monikangana who disappeared from Bollywood after Guzaarish says, “People always ask me where my folks stay. I always tell them I am from Guwahati and my family is based there.” Incidentally, Monikangana has gone back to studies while there is a project in the pipeline.


Playing the part
Adil Hussan began his career with theatre and stand- up comedy, and eventually landed in Bollywood with roles in films such as Ishqiya (2010) and Agent Vinod (2012). He was also seen in Life of Pi ( 2012) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012). The actor feels that these are roles that suit his salt-and-pepper look, as he “ detests dyeing his hair.”

The Seven Sister states (read: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura), are often referred to as ‘Paradise Unexplored’. If the talent in Bollywood is anything to go by, this holds true as B-town doesn’t seem to have tapped the North-East’s full potential.

Known filmmakers from the region include Jahnu Barua, whose 2006 film Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara had Anupam Kher and Urmila Matondkar; Utpal Borpujari; and singers like the late Bhupen Hazarika.
Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi shot her Naseeruddin Shah-Shabana Azmi starrer Ek Pal (1986) in Shillong in Meghalaya and Jorhat in Assam. Her Raveena Tandon-starrer Daman was shot in Guwahati in Assam. She says, “Where a filmmaker wants to shoot is a personal choice. But to be honest, Bollywood rarely makes films with a realistic backdrop. If the reason is inadequate infrastructure, that is the case across the country.
You realise this as soon as you move out of Mumbai. A lot of Assamese films are made and shot in the region.”

Filmmaker Rakesh Roshan shot the Madhuri Dixit-Shah Rukh Khan starrer, Koyla ( 1997), in Arunachal Pradesh. He filmed a song against the backdrop of Shungetser Lake in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang, that is known for its stunning visuals. Mani Ratnam’s 1998 film Dil Se had ULFA’s Assam liberation struggle form its backdrop.

Now with the release of Mary Kom, the North-East will hopefully have a bigger presence in Bollywood.

Mehul S Thakkar (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 22, 2014)

Shah Rukh Khan recently suffered a major blow while shooting for Happy New Year which led to a head injury, a fractured shoulder getting and a torn knee patella tissue. It’s not the first time that the actor has been injured during a shoot. Known to perform daredevil stunts himself, injuries haven't stopped him, they have only pushed him to work harder. A source close to the actor tells Mirror that everytime he has injured himself, he has returned to the sets in a week or at best, in 10 days. And this has often resulted in having to undergo more surgeries later.


EXPERT SPEAK
Physiotherapist Dr Aijaz Ashai says, “I'm sure Shah Rukh is exercising regularly. He needs to work on building muscle around joints and increase the endurance of muscle fibre. He also needs to rest for a while so an injury can heal. He has a flexible body and many people guiding him. 

1996 - INJURY NO 1 (Body Part –Ribs) 
One of Shah Rukh's first injuries was in the 90s when he fractured three ribs while shooting English Babu Desi Mem. But he was back on his feet in a jiffy, shooting for his next, Trimurti.

1997 -  INJURY NO 2 (Body Part – Knee) 
Shah Rukh broke his knee during an action sequence in Koyla. Since they were in Arunachal Pradesh, he continued shooting so Rakesh Roshan would not undergo losses. He required a surgery later. 

1998 - INJURY NO 3 (Body Part – Right Toe)
In 1998, while shooting for Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se, he injured his right toe during a sequence that required him to jump. 

1998 - INJURY NO 4 (Body Part--Chest)
While shooting for Duplicate, a costume that Shah Rukh was wearing resulted in a big cut on his chest. He needed multiple stitches.


2001 -  INJURY NO 5 (Body Part – Right Ankle)
Shah Rukh broke his right ankle in 2001 while shooting for his movie One 2 Ka 4.


2003 - INJURY NO 6 (Body Part -- Back)
While shooting an action sequence for Shakti -- The Power, he suffered a back injury.  The diagnosis said prolapsed disc. In 2003, while filming Chalte Chalte and just before he started Kal Ho Naa Ho, he had to undergo surgery.


2010 - INJURY NO 7 (Body Part -- Left Shoulder) 
He broke it while shooting a cameo in Dulha Mil Gaya.


2010 - INJURY NO 8 (Body Part-- Left shoulder) 
Pain intensified during My Name is Khan. Another surgery.


2011 - INJURY NO 9 (Body Part-- Right Shoulder) 
Hurt it again during Ra.One and had to undergo a major surgery.


2013 - INJURY NO 10 (Body Part -- Right Shoulder) 
During Chennai Express, the pain aggravated requiring another surgery.


2014 - INJURY NO 11 
A door fell on his head during Happy New Year resulting in a fractured shoulder and torn knee patella tissue.