It’s lights, camera and action for Kannada film industry which has resumed shooting after the Central government gave the green signal.
D.R. Jairaj, chairman, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, said the State government had issued a notification in June permitting restricted shooting, including maximum of 50 people at the location for films that were in the last leg of shoot. “Most films had not begun the shooting process and only some pre- and post-production works were going on. Now that the Centre has given other relaxations with adequate safety measures, regular shootings have slowly resumed,” he added.
Film-maker S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu said utmost care would be taken by all departments: make-up, casting, lighting, studios, camera, to actors and directors. “Many films have changed their shooting locations due to the pandemic,” he said, adding that preparations were underway to resume the shooting of his directorial Raja Veera Madakari Nayaka starring Darshan.
Actor, producer and distributor Rockline Venkatesh, producer of Raja Veera Madakari Nayaka, said they had planned to shoot in Rajasthan and had obtained permission as well. “We had to replan everything due to the pandemic. Now, we will be filming in the State itself,” he said.
Various teams have resumed shooting. Director Prashnath Neel recently announced on Twitter that they had “finally” begun the shooting of K.G.F. Chapter 2. Actor Prakash Raj, who is also a part of the movie, tweeted “Start Camera..Action…BACK TO WORK.” According to sources, Shivarajkumar starrer Bhajaranhi 2 begun shooting recently.
Many in the industry The Hindu spoke to said there would be many challenges in the filming process, including shooting intimate scenes, fighting and mass dance scenes. “Shooting of such scenes would be deferred to a later date hoping the number of COVID-19 cases comes down,” an industry source said. He said ensuring that no one is infected would be a challenge, as that would bring the shooting to a halt again.
Sudheendra Venkatesh, a film PR professional, said shooting sites would be quite different from the usual with unprecedented health safety protocol and practices.
“Thermal screening, wearing masks, avoiding hugs and handshakes, PPE kits among others will be the new normal Many teams have had to change their shooting plans including location, travelling, and regular schedule of shootings,” he said, adding that controlling the crowd at shooting site would also be a challenge.
