How hard is the Bollywood industry hit by the COVID-19

How hard is the Bollywood industry hit by the COVID-19
India is ruled by two things, one is cricket and the other is Bollywood. Nothing can separate or unite us as Bollywood does. However, the same cannot escape from the deadly grip of COVID-19, which brought the entire world down to its knees. Following the nation-wide lockdown, all shootings are paused and the movie releases are postponed. Aren’t you curious to find out how your favorite stars and the Bollywood as a whole is dealing with the crisis? 

No films, No shooting, what next?

The entire film industry has been put to a standstill following the nation-wide lockdown which started from March-15 onwards. This has affected everyone who is associated with the Bollywood business, right from production houses to daily wagers. The effect of COVID-19 was felt even before the lockdown. The fear of spread caused a lot of people to stay away from theatres. Movies like Angrezi Medium and Thaapad already felt the pain of it. For instance, Tiger Shroff’s Baaghi-3 sustained a loss of 10% in the early march. 

Further, March to June is the time when the holiday spirits are high.  It is the period when schools and colleges are shut bringing a lot of people to theatres. Last year, Bharat which was an EID release booked a box office profit of roughly 150 crores. But the deadly pandemic made Akshay Kumar’s Sooryavanshi to be postponed indefinitely. A list of other movie releases has also been hit with having no chance of benefitting from the holiday season.

Apart from that movie shoots are also postponed. Kangana Ranaut who was shooting for her movie Thalavi in Tamil Nadu was forced to pack her bags and return to her native place, where she is spending the lockdown now. Films that are in the stage of both pre and post-production are also hit heavily due to the lockdown. 

The Bollywood has already incurred a loss of about 1000-1300 crores. As a lot of insurances do not cover losses sustained due to pandemic or epidemic, analysts suggest that the losses can be even more. 

Even after the lockdown has been lifted, we cannot be sure whether people will flock back to the theatres. Fear, lack of liquidity and the poor state of the economy may keep people away from booking their tickets. Nearly 30-40% of the film’s revenue is sourced from box offices abroad. With the people of the UK, USA and various other significant parts of the globe staying indoors, the box office collections will be threatened. 

How’s the film fraternity dealing with it?

Bollywood has a tight schedule with back to back releases.  Post the pandemic or lockdown there might be overlap in the releases affecting the profits. 

Salman Khan who was a little disappointed with his previous films Dabangg-3 and Bharat was looking forward to Radhe, which was to release this EID. Now the crew has no choice than to hope that the worse situation ends fast. Aamir’s much-awaited movie, Lal Singh Chadha's shooting has been put to hold as well. Post his failure with Zero, the entire Bollywood was eyeing Shahrukh khan’s announcements regarding his come-back. But even that will have to wait. Laxmi Bomb, 83, Coolie no-1 are the other films that are feeling the pangs of lockdown. 

The ones that are being affected the most due to this unprecedented halt are the junior artists and daily wagers. These are the people who are suffering even to meet their end needs. Luckily, the stars are helping them to survive the pandemic. The Federation of Western India Cine Employees has come to their rescue. Along with that, actors and various kind-hearted people like Salman Khan, Rohit Shetty has come forward to lend a helping hand. 

While all this is on one side, the entire movie circle is chilling at their homes with their families. From Alia Bhatt to Taapsee Pannu, from Hrithik to Karthik Aryan is killing time learning a new skill or simply mastering their house chores. With a lot at stake, Bollywood is still positive about its post-pandemic situation. But whether or not things will turn to normalcy is sure to be doubted. But for now, finger-crossed!