Stuck amid lockdown?The show must go on, say TV actors as they shoot from home

Many TV actors have been shooting for something or the other at home, either all by themselves, or aided by their family.

With no new shoots happening due to the lockdown situation in the country, life seems to have come to a standstill for most actors. However, some clearly believe that the show must go on even if it means they’ve to do everything on their own. And the trend is gaining popularity.

Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa are shooting for their new show, Hum Tum Aur Quarantine, from home.

ACTORS TURN ALL-ROUNDERS

Comedienne Bharti Singh and husband, writer Haarsh Limbachiyaa have come up with a new show, Hum Tum Aur Quarantine, which will be aired on a popular channel, and will give a sneak peek into the couple’s life.

“With whatever is happening around the world, we are trying to entertain our audience with humour. We will keep enlightening the audience on importance of staying at home, washing their hands often, practice social distancing etc,” says Bharti.

Calling this series “one of its kind”, she adds, “Harsh and I, are together writing the script, improvising it, directing, shooting and even editing it. It’s a great working experience as we also have to manage our household chores.”

A still from Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hain

ONE FOR SOCIAL AWARENESS

The makers of Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hai! inform us that their actors also shot special bits from home, one in which they are requesting viewers to self-isolate. Producer Binaifer Kohli, though sceptical as to how shoots can be managed at home, says, “One off instance, it’s okay. Our actors have already shot some bytes where they are endorsing everyone who is helping us, including the police, and it’s been aired with the re-runs. They gave nice messages like ‘Bhabhi ji ghar par hain, aap bhi ghar par rahiye’.”

Actor Hiten Tejwani has shot a short film on coronavirus that has gone as an entry at the Lockdown Festival of India, along with a music video. “It’s a tribute to doctors, nurses, police officers and many others who are relentlessly working out there for our safety,” says the actor.

Bollywood actors, too, found a way to shoot a film, albeit a small one, inside their respective houses. The likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, and Rajinikanth came together for it, titled Family.

NEW TWIST TO OLD EPISODES

Producer Rajan Shahi has already got the actors of his popular daily soaps — Shivangi Joshi of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, and Shaheer Sheikh of Yeh Rishte Hain Pyaar Ke — to shoot some special scenes at home. In the absence of new episodes, the makers are showing the old ones with a twist, where the lead characters talk to the audience offering a fresh perspective on the story.

Shahi explains, “The story recap has been brought across in an interesting manner, and the actors gave the bytes themselves from their homes. We have linked them with the episodes, and it’s very nice, with the old episodes having fresh touch. Like they say, the show never ends.”

TV actor Shivangi Joshi shooting at her home in Dehradun.

Talking about his “different” experience of shooting at home, Sheikh tells us, “I felt a little odd shooting for it, because I have to be in the character at home. I had to decide the timing and everything. It was weird to look into the camera and talk like that. We do that stuff on sets, of course, but this was something different. It was incorporated into the episodes, our reaction to basically it being re-airing.”

Director Lalit Mohan, who has helmed shows such as Qubool Hai and Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, calls this trend an “experimental phase” and believes that if it works, “we can do it in the future too, when say, actors are not getting time or technicians fall sick.” He concludes by saying, “As of now, I feel the scenes they are shooting should educate the society in some way, it shouldn’t just be for the business.”