With Unlock 2.0, the shooting for several TV shows has resumed. MUSBA HASHMI speaks with actors who share their experience of adapting to the new normal on the sets
From the chart topper Kumkum Bhagya to the kids’ most loved shows Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga, our favourite shows are ready to air fresh episodes after a three-month hault. Actors covered in masks and the crew in PPE kits, is the new normal on the sets. Joining the bandwagon is the sanitiser which is now leading from the front.
Like everyone else, the actors are also struggling to maintain social distancing on the sets and not let the pandemic affect their acting skills.
“Day one on the set was extremely difficult. You wake up and get to hear so many deaths and the increasing number of cases every day. It is indeed disheartening. It affects you in some or the other way. You have the fear of catching infections. However, we all are taking utmost precautions and there is a process of sanitisation that we have to go through before entering the sets. Also when you are shooting, you have your co-actors and it becomes extremely difficult to maintain social distancing. The new normal on the sets has changed completely,” Siddharth Nigam, who plays Aladdin in Sony Sab’s Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga, tells you.
The whole day on the sets, he says, is spent on what if we catch infection. “Earlier, our focus was completely on the scene, but now we have to take care of other things as well,” Nigam says.
But like every coin has two sides, Nigam feels that there are certain pros and cons of the shoots resuming.
“The good thing is that a lot of people have got their jobs back. The ones who were sitting at home, unsure of what the future will bring are now back at work especially all the technicians and the spot dadas. They can now earn a living. But one con of this new normal is that, earlier we had a cast and crew of 200 people but now that has been reduced to 50. But then it is for everyone’s safety only,” he adds.
Chhavi Pandey, who plays Tara in Sony Sab’s Tera Kya Hoga Alia, tells you that she is excited to get back to work after a long gap.
“I am excited to enter the show as Tara. It has been a long gap since we have been shooting and I have been missing it a lot. It’s like a new start for me as I will be working on a new show after this difficult phase and I am sure I will have fun with the entire cast. The character of Tara is very elegant and she is now going to be the Vice-Principal of the English medium section of the school. I am looking forward to playing this character and I hope the audiences will enjoy it too.”
Karan Jotwani who plays Neel in Zee TV’s Qurbaan Hua tells you that his first first day on the set was exciting yet apprehensive but the production house has made sure that the set is sanitised regularly. “That’s how it was. But that was okay because everyone was a little apprehensive about getting back to work amid the Coronavirus scare,” Jotwani says.
The biggest apprehension was to follow all the norms and guidelines while shooting. “There were a few apprehensions. One, once you get busy with a shoot, you forget about social distancing. Second, sometimes you just forget to wear a mask and you can’t just take this risk while on the sets. These are the two fears that I had,” he tells you.
For Jotwani, adapting to the new normal is neither hard nor that easy. “This is one thing that we have to live with. The rising number of cases are of course a cause of worry but then the recovery rate of patients is high. Having said that, no one wants to get through the pain of being diagnosed with COVID-19. I agree that it is the new normal, but all we need to do is to be patient and take proper safety measures,” Jotwani adds.