Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, asked the film and television producers to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 norms laid down by the State government and coordinate with police authorities about the place of shoot as well as an extension for timings. The chief minister held a virtual meeting with the members of film producers guild regarding COVID-19 protocols that should be followed on the sets. The Chief Minister suggested various precautions like regular testing of cast and crew and also to promote vaccination. The meeting was attended by filmmakers Ritesh Sidhwani, Stuti Ramchandra, Madhu Bhojwani, Rakesh Mehra and Nitin Ahuja of the Producers Guild, a leading organization of Hindi filmmakers.
The Producers Guild of India CEO, Nitin Tej Ahuja said, “In a letter to the CM, we had shared comprehensive standard operating procedures being followed by our members, as also our efforts to get film crews vaccinated. The CM and other attendees, like the medical task force and the police commissioner, gave us a patient hearing and shared pertinent points, too.” Thackeray said the government does not like to impose restrictions, but the virus is still there in Maharashtra, Kerala and other states. He said, “Despite the provision of a bio bubble, the virus was detected during sports competitions and other programmes. We are not completely out of the second wave, but the third wave seems to have hit other countries. Therefore, we need to take full care for effective implementation of health. “We are happy with the government’s positive response as the CM has ensured us with the solution by talking to the task force members soon. We have asked for permission to shoot after 4pm as for certain scenes the shooting during the night is a must. Few films have been stuck incomplete because of the requirement of night shooting. We have assured the government to take all precautions and follow the norms we have been following during day shifts of shooting,” said Ritesh Sidhawani, a producer and member of the PGI.