The Producers Guild of India has set up a relief fund for daily wage workers who will be hit by the complete shutdown of all film, television show and web series shoots from March 19 to 31. The shoots have been halted as a precautionary measure amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“In light of the complete shutdown of all production related activity for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there is bound to be a significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of daily wage earners in the industry. The Producers Guild has decided to set up a relief fund to help support those most affected by the shutdown. We would encourage the entire fraternity to contribute to the fund, to ensure that we can do all we can to minimise the disruption in the lives of our valued colleagues and associates in this difficult time,” Siddharth Roy Kapur, president of the Producers Guild of India, said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the leading film bodies – the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association (IMPPA), Western India Film Producers’ Association (WIFPA), Indian Film and TV Producers Council (IFTPC), Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) and Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) – came to a consensus to stop the shooting of all formats of entertainment, after a joint meeting.
Filmmakers Sudhir Mishra, Anubhav Sinha, Hansal Mehta, Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap were among the people in the film industry who had earlier raised concerns about the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on daily wage earners such as light boys, junior artistes and set workers.
