Maharashtra bans film, TV shooting on Covid fears

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday imposed a ban on shooting of films, TV serials and advertisements across the state starting Wednesday 8 pm.

The ban is part of other state wide restrictions that are put in place to keep the rising number of Covid infections in check.

The new restrictions will be in effect till at least April 30th.

“While we understand the need for strict measures given the massive spike in the number of cases, a total ban on shooting will make thousands of daily-wage workers in the film and TV industry jobless,” said the owner of a TV production studio.

The move will once again hit the pipeline of TV channels, executives feel.

“TV channels don’t have more than 2-3 episodes of the shows. We are already under pressure due to dwindling ad sales and now if we don’t have fresh content to offer, advertisers will once again pull back advertising,” said a senior executive at a TV channel.