HYDERABAD: Telugu film industry bigwigs, on Thursday, sought permission from the State government to resume film shoots and other production work. A delegation from the movie industry held a meeting with Cinematography Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav at actor Chiranjeevi’s residence and discussed the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions.
Speaking about the prevailing crisis in filmdom, Chiranjeevi said, “The lockdown has severely affected the livelihood of daily wage workers and technicians, who often lead a hand-to-mouth existence. We request the (Telangana) government to allow us to resume film shootings and reopen cinema theatres. We assure that social distancing guidelines and other necessary precautions will be observed at the shooting locations.” Echoing similar views, director SS Rajamouli added, “We will shoot with limited cast and crew and hygiene will be taken care of.
We request the government to draft an action plan on the working conditions.” Citing the example of how the Thailand government has allowed film shoots to resume after several protocols, actor Nagarjuna requested the Minister to grant border clearance for actors and technicians to travel to Hyderabad.
Talasani said, “The government will consider all the opinions and chart out guidelines on how shooting and other production-related works can be resumed by adhering to social distancing and other norms.”