It’s back to business for the Kannada television industry

After nearly two months of all television-related production having halted, industry stakeholders heaved a sigh of relief when the government acceded to their demand to resume shooting. The celebratory moment, though, was cut short by deliberations to formulate plans to strictly follow official guidelines that are still being worked out.
President of the Kannada Television Association, SV Shivakumar says, “As a start, only shooting within confined indoor sets has been allowed, with the exemption of reality shows.It is still unclear how many people will be allowed on set at any given point of time. We are looking at shooting with minimal people and adopting precautionary measures like use of hand sanitisers and masks.Actors will remove masks only during the shooting.”
Swapna Krishna, who helms Subbalakshmi Samsara, says, "While I can only take ownership to the extent of ensuring that we follow best hygiene practices on set, what we've learnt about Covid-19 is that it depends on individuals and how they take care of themselves. We also need to convince the families of cast and crew members to allow them back on set."
Shruti Naidu, the maker of Brahmagantu and Yaare Nee Mohini, says, “We will resume shooting from Monday, after chalking out clear-cut plans for social distancing by having minimal human contact on the set. For instance, instead of having staff to serve food we will follow a buffet system. We will also sanitise the entire area where the shoot will be take place, before and after schedules. Masks will be mandatory and sanitisers will be available for periodic use by cast and crew.
Swapna adds that her immediate focus is to restrict numbers on set. “From the earlier two dozen crew members, we will operate with half that number. However, as most technical teams usually send crew members based on availability or rotation, we are going to insist on more accountability, by having the same people coming in every day," she says.
Raksh, the lead of Gattimela, says, "This is a good move especially for the daily wage workers. But what will be important is how to ferry and take care of artistes and technicians who come from red zones."
Business head of a general entertainment channel, Raghavendra Hunsur says, “We will meet with all production houses soon to discuss how shooting can be done with minimal crew. The plan is to create content that demands minimal crew. We will also not allow cast or crew from red zones or senior citizens to shoot. Everyone who reports for work will be made aware about the precautions they need to take even after the shoot as they need to come back the next day. COVID 19 will stay for a long time, so we need to be ready for it. We are trying our best to keep the pandemic at bay.”
Parameshwar Gundkal, Business Head of a cluster of Kannada GECs, adds, "The television industry has suffered as the ads have reduced, but we will have to keep the audience in mind and churn out fresh original content, which we will."
New norms on set
Compulsory masks and sanitisers on the set
Buffet system for lunch and breakfast
Only essential technical crew
No senior citizens on set
Only indoor shoots
Minimal contact and social distancing on the set