Bollywood hard at work scripting a comeback

BANGALORE, India－The dancers stopped strutting on Bollywood film sets this year as the Indian film industry struggled to find any spring in its step during a disastrous 2020.

The annus horribilis for the world's most prolific movie industry began with the heartbreaking deaths in April within 36 hours of luminaries Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor.

Others to pass away included composer Wajid Khan, who died from coronavirus at 42, director Basu Chatterjee, Bollywood's first female choreographer Saroj Khan, and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, singer of an estimated 40,000 film songs.

Virus restrictions forced producers to hit the pause on film shootings, putting thousands of livelihoods at risk in Hindi-language Bollywood as well as India's other regional film industries.

From "spot boys" running errands on set to "junior artistes" eking out a living as extras, the sector relies on a huge army of low-paid workers.

"The loss of employment and income has been devastating for so many," Bhasker said.

Productions have tentatively resumed, but virus restrictions forbid them from shooting the elaborate musical sequences that are a hallmark of Hindi movies.

This point was brought home in a social media post in August by superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who spent weeks in hospital this year with the coronavirus, describing a film set as "a sea of blue PPE", or personal protective equipment.

Cinemas were shut for months and although they reopened in October, virus-wary viewers are staying away. Some theaters are wondering if the crowds will ever return.

A trip to the cinema has traditionally been hugely popular in India. Prices range from $1 tickets at single-screen theaters to air-conditioned multiplexes offering seat-side biryani and hot fudge sundaes.

New releases have ground to a halt, with many producers preferring to screen their films directly on streaming platforms that boomed as the pandemic forced millions into lockdown.

But Bachchan's actor son Abhishek, whose crime caper Ludo went straight to Netflix last month, said the silver screen experience "cannot be duplicated".

"We love our outings to the theater. We love watching our films on the screen while eating a nice tub of popcorn, our samosas and cold drinks and going with our friends and family," he said.

"I absolutely see theaters making a comeback and I really hope they do."

Although Hollywood has mooted the idea of showing films simultaneously in cinemas and on digital platforms, with Warner Bros planning to do so with all its 2021 releases, its Indian counterparts have no such plans.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who is starring in AK vs AK, a black comedy out on Netflix this week, said: "There are certain films that must be seen projected onto the big screen."

A string of beloved single-screen cinemas have shuttered and many others are contemplating closure, film trade analyst Komal Nahta said.

Although shoots have resumed, every week throws up new cases of stars testing positive for coronavirus, forcing productions to shut down.

Agencies Via Xinhua