Coronavirus: Shoots stalled, Bollywood could lose Rs. 800cr
The coronavirus outbreak has brought businesses across the globe to a standstill. And, needless to say, showbiz is part of the game too. In a precautionary move, several prominent film and television associations have decided to halt the shooting of all productions from Thursday, March 19, till March 31, in order to contain the spread of the deadly virus. Here's more.
The decision was taken in a meeting called by Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE), Indian Film & Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) and Producers Guild of India on Sunday. It was also attended by representatives of the Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association (IMPPA), Western India Film Producers' Association (WIFPA) and the Indian Film and TV Producers Council (IFTPC).
Saying that the move to cancel shoots was the "need of the hour", Kulmeet Makkar, CEO of the Producers Guild of India, said they can't put the health and safety of their colleagues at risk. Meanwhile, IFTDA's president Ashoke Pandit said production teams have been given time till Thursday so that they can wrap up underway shoots and return from outstations.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected the movie business big time. Bollywood stars like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, and Deepika Padukone are among those who called off their foreign trips due to the outbreak. Meanwhile, the scheduled shootings of major projects like Karan Johar's Takht, Akshay Kumar's Prithviraj, and Kartik Aaryan-starrer Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 have been either been stalled or shifted to newer locations.
Meanwhile, the release of some much-awaited movies like Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi and Dibakar Banerjee's Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar have been postponed. Not only that, the government's decision to shut down cinema halls, due to the fatal outbreak in states like Delhi, Kerala, and Maharashtra, is severely affecting the box office collections of running movies like Angrezi Medium and Baaghi 3.
Obviously, cinephiles have their apprehensions about visiting theaters and this has brought bad news for Bollywood. With abrupt cancellation of shoots and release dates being shifted, 2020 might become one of the worst years for Bollywood, as far as box office is considered. In fact, trade experts suggest that Bollywood stands to lose a whopping Rs. 800 crore, a report in Mumbai Mirror said.
The coronavirus pandemic has sickened more than 100 people in India and killed two. Meanwhile, across the globe, the disease has so far claimed the lives of over 6,000 persons and affected more than 1.5 lakh.
