Tamil News

Tamil Nadu Government Allows Resumption Of Shoot For Television From Tomorrow

By Aparajitha Balu
Photo Source: Silverscreen Media Library

After permitting the resumption of post-production activities for both, the film and small screen industry with a limited crew, the TamilNadu government has now given the green signal for small screen shooting to commence. This decision came after several appeals were made by the Film Employees’ Federation of South India (FEFSI) and the South Indian Small Screen Producers Association to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edapadi K Palaniswami.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

In the wake of the pandemic, in March, the film and television industry suspended all administrative, post-production, and promotional work for movies and shows to avoid the spread of the deadly virus. Following this, the nation-wide lockdown led to the shutting down of all sectors, leaving daily wage workers in the lurch without income. Despite the succour that poured in from the Indian film industry, daily wagers could not sustain beyond a month and a half. On that note, these organisations requested the government to allow production activities to resume in order to provide employment to several daily wagers and workers whose livelihoods depend on cinema.

While permission has been granted, the state has also laid down certain rules that have to be compulsorily conformed to by the artists, technicians, and crew members.

  1. With not more than 20 crew members, both indoor and outdoor shooting is allowed in corona-free zones. No shooting is permitted at containment zones.
  2. All shooting equipment, trailers, vehicles, sets, and locations must be sanitised properly before commencing and after wrapping up shoot.
  3. No passersby are allowed on set.
  4. Except for the cast, all technicians and crew members present in the sets must wear masks and maintain social distance at all points while filming. On completing their shots, artists must immediately adorn their masks and follow social distancing norms.
  5. All artists, technicians, and crew members must sanitise their hands at regular intervals.
  6. Anybody with symptoms like cold, cough, and breathlessness should not be permitted on sets. Instead, they must be sent immediately for medical examination.
  7. Acquiring prior permission from the Commissioner of the Chennai Municipal Corporation for filming in Chennai and the respective district collectors for filming at various districts is compulsory.
  8. The rules and regulations laid down by the central and state ministers from time to time have to be adhered to by all crews.

Happy with the decision, actress Khushboo Sundar, who is also part of the small screen federation, thanked Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edapadi K Palaniswami for accepting the appeal, and Minister for Information and Publicity Tamil Nadu, Kadambur Raju for helping them out. The actress, along with Radhika Sarathkumar has been diligently following up with the state for the resumption of activities ever since the lockdown was announced.

While resumption of film shooting is most likely not to happen soon, post-production activities for several films like Shankar’s Indian 2 starring Kamal, MS Anandan’s Chakra starring Vishal, M Saravanan’s Raangi starring Trisha, Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Master starring Vijay, and Nelson Dilipkumar’s Doctor starring Sivakarthikeyan are on full-swing.

A few days back, the Andhra Pradesh government announced that once film and television shooting commences in the state, the film crews will not have to pay location charges for various places including temples, parks, museums, schools, colleges, gardens, forests, dams, barrages, riverbanks, and the state libraries. Although, the production house would have to remit a refundable caution deposit of either Rs. 10,000 or 15,000 for every eight hours depending on the location.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

In addition to this, the government has also brought under its wing certain locations, which were not accessible earlier, at which filmmakers can shoot. It has also eliminated all locations pertaining to the state of Telangana.

The initiative seeks to encourage filmmakers all over the world to shoot in the state according to the government order issued. Recently, the Madhya Pradesh government had also announced a similar initiative for filmmakers.

Read: South Indian Films To Receive Subsidy For Shooting In Madhya Pradesh

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Aparajitha Balu is a Alum at Silverscreen India, and can be reached by email at aparajitha@silverscreen.in