Due to the sudden outbreak of Coronavirus, the Government of India as well as state governments suspended shoots for nearly three months. After much wait, the shoots resumed a few weeks ago, but with numerous guidelines. One of them is not allowing actors above the age of 65 to shoot keeping the adverse effects of the pandemic on their health in mind. However, this guideline hasn't gone well with senior actors and cine bodies. Raising the question of how will they survive these testing times if they aren't allowed to work, associations have requested the Maharashtra Government to issue relaxation.
Now, in the latest development, the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA) has issued a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra-Uddhav Thackeray. In the letter, the cine body has mentioned that not allowing senior actors and crew members on sets is an impractical guideline. Stating that they are masters in their craft and can't be replaced, IMPPA asked Mr. Thackeray to look into the matter at the earliest.
In addition to this,IMPPA also mentioned that it is difficult to provide accommodation to unit members in nearby hotels or apartments. Stating that hotels that can be exclusively devoted to accomodating the team have been already booked by the Government as quarantine facilities, IMPPA requested Mr. Thackeray to delete the said guideline from the list. The cine body also voiced their opinion that a medical team along with an ambulance has to be present on the set is difficult to implement. Citing example of how the guidelines laid down by Karnataka Government are easy to implement, IMPPA requested Mr. Thackeray to look into the matter at the earliest.
Recently, the Bombay High Court questioned the Maharashtra state government regarding its directive that bars actors below 10 and above 65 years from shooting amid the Covid-19 pandemic. A petition was filed by senior Bollywood actor Pramod Pandey on Tuesday against the government directive.