“This is a good time for content and IP owners,” comments Mehra. “There are more people staying at home and consumption is going through the roof.”
“We realised there was a gap sitting out there in Bollywood,” says the executive. “Bollywood is all about escapist cinema, which does very well with a particular age group, but a younger crowd that has been more exposed to Hollywood content were also asking for more realistic cinema. We stepped into that gap. It gives me the flexibility to make sure I’m true to the story but can still make money even if the film is not released in theaters.
“We are taking every possible safety precaution,” he outlines. “We test everyone before they come on set, all crew wear PPE apart from actors, and we do regular testing of oxygen levels and temperature checks. We have a full time COVID inspector. We are also limiting the number of people on set to 30, with everyone else on an adjoining set.”
Over at Zee Entertainment, which works across production and distribution, Vibha Chopra has also been having conversations with streaming services. The company has recently struck a deal for“We had originally planned a theatrical release, but we don’t know when theaters are going to open up,” says Chopra. There had been hopes that this month might see some re-openings, but that is looking extremely unlikely and the exec says it could be September or October before we do see progress.