Covid second wave: Will shoot from home emerge as a viable option for actors now?

While some actors tell us that shooting from home is a viable option and can be explored, other feel it is not feasible as it bloats the budget of the producers as well as hampers the production quality of the TV shows.

It is going to be almost a month since shoots were completely stalled in Maharashtra. While films can still afford to wait till the situation improves, for TV shows, it came as a huge jolt due to which many even relocated to different locations such as Gujarat, Goa and Telangana. But now with lockdown imposed in Goa — which was the most preferred destination for shoots — what happens now since there’s a constant demand for a regular flow of content on the small screen? Are actors now looking at shooting from home? Can that be a viable option?

Actors weigh in about the option of shooting from home. (Shutterstock)

Actor Sanjay Gagnani, who was shooting Kundali Bhagya in Goa says, with the district administrations of every state imposing more restrictions, the shooting as well as post production work of TV shows have come to a grinding halt.

Actor Sanjay Gagnani would be okay shooting from home if the need arises.

“We shifted our set schedule to Goa due to the ongoing lockdown in Maharashtra. But as of now even Goa administration has put forth a lockdown in the state so the productions are yet to figure out how to take things forward. In my opinion I feel shoot from home is the most convenient and safest option for the time being. It will ensure the safety of ourselves as well as the people around us without compromising on the entertainment for the audience.”

Noting how even last year this shoot form home module worked wonders, the actor adds, “As we did this last year as well we had shot a three-week sequence from our respective homes on our phones. This is a difficult phase for the entire country so we can also do our bit in maintaining all the safety protocols issued by the government.”

Given the worsening situation, while actor Karanvir Sharma believes that shoot from home is the best option at hand for actors, he finds the bio-bubble concept a better way of looking at things.

“It’s humanly not possible to churn interesting content for long when you shoot from home. But never say never. We might just be going the (content creators) Bhuvan Bam or Ashish Chanchlani way. Shoot it yourself and play different characters too. So, anything is possible,” says the actor of TV show Shaurya Aur Anokhi Ki Kahani, which also shifted to Goa last month.

Actor Karanvir Sharma

In disagreement with this whole idea of shoot at home, actor Rajesh Kumar opines that it would be nothing but a financial burden on the production houses. “How is that feasible I’m not sure! The production houses have anyway been stretching their budgets when they opted to shoot in places out of Mumbai — be it in Goa, Silvassa or other places,” he reasons.

Elaborating further, Kumar, who’d personally be fine shooting from home if that suits the shows and makers, adds, “Shooting TV shows require certain kind of set up, mics, cameras... arranging all that at home for every single member of the cast is not practically possible. Yes, if there are patch works to be shot, that can be done from home. But sustaining that for a longer period of time is not possible.”

That said, while TV shows can still be shot from home, what happens to web shows, whose shootings have come to a screeching halt?

Bhanu Uday Goswami, whose web series Rudrakaal released in March just before the lockdown, tells us that there are still some episodes left to be shot. But he asserts that shooting from home isn’t an option for them.

“For TV shows, since the stories are pretty much linear and can be altered for a period of time, so they can be shot from one place — be it home or elsewhere in a hotel. But, the problem arises with web shows. The story of the series cannot be tweaked in any way because it’s a compact plot. Our series had to be stalled because we can’t shoot from home. We have a bank of few episodes but that’s not going to suffice. So, shooting from home may work for TV shows but not web series,” he maintains.