India Publishes Government-Backed COVID Production Guidelines

India’s film and TV biz continues to edge closer to a return to production with the publishing of a government-endorsed set of COVID-19 shooting guidelines

The protocols, which you can read a scan of here, cover increased hygiene, distancing and testing, mirroring many similar documents we have seen published around the world.

The world’s most prolific film industry went on hiatus back in March, forcing numerous big-scale productions to shut down. We spoke to heavyweight producers Boney Kapoor and Vikram Malhotra about the impact of the lockdown and how they are cautiously planning a return to production.

The closing of the country’s cinemas also saw an unprecedented number of films go direct onto streaming services, particularly Amazon when it landed exclusive rights to seven features and more recently Disney+ Hotstar, as the digital giants scarp over the country’s enormous, content-hungry population.

At the end of May, the local government of Maharashtra, which houses India’s primary hub for film and TV in Mumbai, advised that shooting could resume in specific areas, albeit in a restricted form. The Producers Guild of India published its own set of safety measures at the time.