'Chehre' Producer Anand Pandit Urges Govt To Provide Post Lockdown Guidelines

Veteran producer Anand Pandit urged the Central government to provide guidelines to the film industry post the lockdown so that the filmmakers can safely start shooting of their upcoming movies.

New Delhi: With lockdown 3.0 in place and all indications that the world may have to get used to having Corona around, several within the Indian Film industry find themselves looking at guidance from the government to get the industry back on track. Veteran producer Anand Pandit believes the government is in the best place to guide the film industry to start preparing for the world post the lockdown. For an industry that earns most of its revenues from audiences thronging theatres, the new normal of social distancing has put a question mark on the possibilities of theatres reopening to packed houses.  Not just that film crew shoots that normally see a unit of not less than 100 people working in close quarters might need to be trimmed substantially. With several thousand crores locked between films ready for release and others in various stages of production, veteran producer  Anand Pandit is worried about the industry as he calculates the cascading impact of an industry at a standstill. "I strongly urge the government to set certain guidelines in consultation with various stakeholders from the industry on whats the future path for the Indian Film industry should be." Clarifying that he wasn't just speaking for Bollywood but for the entire Indian film industry, Pandit pointed out that while the South Indian film Industry has made a plea for post-production work to be started, the Kerala government has already taken the lead. 'While I completely understand the challenges faced by the govt and agree that we can only move forward once the situation eases out, I believe it is important for guidelines and mechanisms to be planned and ready to be put in place as and when we begin work. Guidelines that can help clear the uncertainty among the industry stakeholders." Anand Pandit has collaborated and produced some iconic films under the banner Anand Pandit Motion Pictures. Interestingly, he is working with both the Bachchans currently - with Big B in ‘Chehre’ and Junior Bachchan in ‘The Big Bull’ both set to release later this year.