Owing to the raging coronavirus pandemic, the entertainment industry in India went for a complete shutdown in March this year. After nearly five months and a lot of brainstorming, Information & Broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar finally allowed operations to resume in August. He also announced a list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that need to be followed while shooting on the sets of films and TV shows.
With people finally getting back to work, TV channels started posting promos of their shows on social media, showing safety measures being followed by the cast and crew. However, with several positive cases being reported from ongoing film and TV shoots, it looks like some of these units aren’t strictly following COVID-19 protocols.
Most big budget film shoots have made it a standard practice to have daily COVID-19 tests done for all their crew members before they step onto the set. Despite such strict precautionary measures, we’ve heard reports of how actors like Varun Dhawan, Neetu Singh and Kriti Sanon have contracted the virus while working on their respective films.
The Quint did a quick check to understand what actually happens on a set. While the news of a big actor or television celebrity testing positive when working on a film or show immediately makes news and results in a halt in the production, what happens when other smaller crew members contract the virus?
Reality TV Shows Avoiding Tests for Crew Due to Costs
An insider source told The Quint that most of the crew members, including the creative and production teams of a very popular singing reality show, recently tested positive for coronavirus. Some people had to be admitted to the hospital as well, but the shoot went on as per schedule.
Another dance reality show, which recently aired its grand finale, saw a number of crew members and participants testing positive. Even a popular celebrity judge on the show tested positive and posted about it on her social media handles.
Let's take a look at where the loopholes could be here.
What is the immediate precaution that's taken when a person tests COVID-19 positive on a set? First, the infected person is immediately quarantined. Secondly, people who have been working in close proximity to that person have to get tested at the earliest.
While the first precaution is taken, in most cases the second one is completely neglected. Our source said that some production houses are avoiding getting COVID-19 tests for primary contacts because of the costs involved. Another reason to avoid testing is that if multiple results come positive, then the shoot itself would need to be halted, resulting in losses.
A producer, who has been working on several shows told us on the condition of anonymity, “It’s not possible for the production houses to bear the cost of more than 100 COVID-19 tests. There should be the individual responsibility to get oneself tested.”
TV Commercial Shoots Not Following COVID-19 Safety Norms
This grim reality is not just restricted to reality shows. The Quint heard similar stories from the sets of TV commercial (TVC) shoots as well. Small-time production houses have not even made it mandatory for the crew to get a coronavirus test done before coming to the sets.
“If someone tests positive, he or she is not allowed on set and is immediately replaced. And the people who have interacted with that person get a mail to watch out for symptoms and to alert the production house.A crew member working on multiple ad shoots
But what if a few crew members are asymptomatic? The shoot then continues as scheduled. "Unless and until an A-lister is involved in the shoot, no one bothers to even ask for a COVID-19 test," the crew member adds.
Major production houses have been providing medical insurance, but according to the crew, the insurance policies state that the companies will bear the costs only if someone is in the ICU. The treatment before that is either taken care of by the government (if you are admitted to a COVID-19 centre) or it goes from your own pocket.
Another crew member, who had worked with a production house on a TVC some time back, says in order to meet the COVID-19 expenses production houses are making their crew members and actors work overtime. So a five-day shoot is wrapped up in three days, with everyone working around 20 hours.
She also shared an incident which has made her question the ethics of the industry.
“I shared a cab with my colleague, and the next day he tested positive. The production house didn’t even bother to inform people so that they can take necessary precautions. One of the crew members has a mother who is suffering from cancer. The producers knew about it and still withheld the information. I have lost respect for them.”A crew member of a TVC shoot
Crew Members Spend on Tests for Fear of Losing Jobs
The worst hit is the labour crew, as they are not even paid for getting themselves tested. Added to that is the lack of awareness and fear of losing jobs if they don't take the tests.
There are three different coronavirus tests and they are quite expensive:
- Antigen Test: Costs Rs 700-900 approximately. It'll give the result in around five minutes but isn't very reliable.
- RT PCR - Costs Rs 2,700-3,000 approx. This one is heavily relied upon for diagnosis.
- Antibody Test: Rs 1,300-1500approx. This test is to check if you have antibodies post recovery. It is popularly used in sero surveys
Another crew member working on reality shows says, “Nobody thinks about the editors who work in tiny rooms. The show editors who work round the clock are at maximum risk. Edit rooms are neither sanitized nor disinfected regularly. Only when celebrities are involved are the necessary precautions taken”.
With coronavirus cases rising by the day, these loopholes paint a very distressing picture about the way some producers and production houses in the entertainment industry are running the show.