As showbiz world readies to get back to work, production costs set to rise!

Adhering to government’s detailed guidelines is likely to increase film/TV production costs by about 15 per cent; experts call them ‘necessary expenses’

Filmmakers and TV producers surely heaved a sigh of relief when Maharashtra government gave a green signal to shooting/post-production work. But the permission comes with a detailed guideline. And industry insiders feel that adhering to all the precautions/guidelines is likely to push the production costs up by over 15 per cent.

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“It’s true that the production costs are going to shoot up but what other option do we have?” says producer Bhushan Kumar, who has about 3-4 films that have about “5-6 days of patch work [shooting] left.” Kumar hopes that he can complete [shoot] work on his films “sometime in July while taking all the precautions.”

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According to experts, following guidelines such as taking breaks for cleaning and disinfecting sets etc., comes with a cost, and it would also result in shorter working days which would lead to longer schedules. Plus, things such as maintaining social distancing, arranging for medical facilities on sets, and even transportation are going to escalate the costs. Also, another challenge, say experts, could be getting labour for technical jobs such as lights, art, make-up, costumes etc. as a lot of them have gone back to their native towns.

TV producer Rajan Shahi too admits that “the increased production cost is inevitable.” “I won’t call it ‘extra’ cost but ‘necessary’ cost. And whatever amount/ per cent it is, it has to be a part of the total costs. After all, it’s about people’s safety,” he says. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh concurs, saying: “Yes, production costs will go up but kya yeh kisi ki jaan se badh ke hai? Safety and survival is of paramount importance, right?”