Lockdown Effect: The good and bad we saw of television industry in the last three months

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic gripped the entire world, all the sectors of the working/non-working class have been a witness to a whole new list of pros and cons of a lockdown. In the past three months, TV industry and people involved with it faced innumerable hurdles. While for some actors it has been a blissful time, for some it has been a nightmare. With shooting soon set to resume following new set of rules and regulations, let’s take a look at the good and bad faced by the television industry in last three months.

Many actors too faced financial issues because of not being paid from their previous projects. Sayantani Ghosh, Hamari Bahu Silk actors and several others spoke about not being paid. Rajesh Kareer to Nupur Alankar to Ashiesh Roy have been seeking financial aid to survive. It has been a hard time for many during this lockdown.

The entire TV and film industry came to a halt since March 19. With no shooting, daily wage earners had to take a hit. Many production houses and artists came together to fund them.

Entertainment industry is one such place of work, where people are more prone to being depressed or feel anxious because of the nature of the work and cut-throat competition. While Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide shocked the nation, TV actors Manmeet Grewal and Preksha Mehta’s suicides also came as a shock to many. The actors took their lives due to depression and financial crisis during the lockdown.

The 90-payment rule became a huge topic of discussion. The policy for Hindi TV rules is that all actors will be paid 90-days after the first telecast of a show. Accepting this rule for all these years, many actors and crew members are taking the hit of this existing policy. Madhura Naik, Donal Bisht, Ashish Sharma and many others spoke about banning this policy and being paid on a monthly-basis.

The lockdown has given birth to many new shows from the confines of celebrity homes. One could have never thought, that celebrities will be shooting from their own homes with no camera, makeup or production units at help. Bharti Singh-Haarsh Limbachiyaa, Amitabh Bachchan to Hina Khan, TV actors adapted to the new normal of shooting from home.

One good thing that lockdown gave all is getting to spend more time with family. For actors, who are always busy shooting, get very little time to spend with their families. This lockdown period came as boon for many, who wanted to be with their families.

Not all have been fortunate to be locked down with their families. Many TV actors had to spend the lockdown alone and manage things on their own. Arti Singh, Aalisha Panwar, Donal Bisht, Helly Shah and many others spent the lockdown alone within the confines of their homes.

The lockdown didn’t stop celebrities from getting married. Puja Banerjee announced her registry wedding with beau Kunal Verma during the lockdown. Their lavish-wedding, which was supposed to take place in April, got cancelled as well. However, the couple chose to donate the amount they had saved for their wedding to the needy. Apart from Puja-Kunal, Bigg Boss 2 winner Ashutosh Kaushik got married to his fiance Arpita on April 26 in Noida during the lockdown. Their wedding took place on the terrace of his residence.

The 90’s era returned with the re-run of iconic shows – Ramayan and Mahabharat. It was big boost to the Indian television as the current generation sat with their parents and grandparents to watch the shows during the lockdown. With sky-rocketing TRPs, many other iconic shows like Dekh Bhai Dekh, Shriman Shrimati to name a few also made a comeback.

Many celebrities can’t wait for the lockdown to get over. Arjun Bijlani, who is with his wife and son, couldn’t meet his mother as his building in Andheri (Mumbai) was sealed. Mohit Malik and Addite are also waiting to drive down to Delhi to meet his parents.

The lockdown brought out the creative side of many TV celebs, which was hidden due to their busy schedules. Cooking, baking, sketching to even turning hairstylists… TV actors showed a plethora of their creative minds.

Many TV actors got stuck overseas ever since lockdown was announced. Aditi Bhatia to Ankur Bhatia, the actors were stuck in USA and have now started the process to facilitate their return to India.