COVID-19 Side Effects: Intimate Scenes In Bollywood Films To Be A Thing Of The Past?

Mumbai: Post COVID-19 lockdown, the film industry is in dilemma over shooting intimate scenes, which might put the actors at risk because of the fast spreading pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has set a colossal challenge before the filmmakers to shoot films while adhering to the social distancing guidelines issued by WHO.

In an interview with the Outlook, filmmaker Shoojit Sircar said, “I think it is going to be very difficult to perform intimate scenes. The first question is if the actors agree to do such scenes? The Film Guild of India has come up with some guidelines as to how shooting will be done. But it will all be trial and error. But it’s going to be very difficult to shoot after the lockdown. It is going to take time because nobody has experienced this before and it is going to be a fresh start.”

Meanwhile, Cine & TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA), the Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television And Radio Artistes have teamed up to work on the SOPs that should be followed while shooting intimate scenes.

Amit Behl, Senior Joint Secretary and Chairperson of the Outreach Committee CINTAA, told Outlook, “In India also, we are basically looking at virologists on the set, somebody approved by the ICMR who can handle intimacy guidelines and also we are concerned about asymptomatic carriers on the sets.”

While the film fraternity is still mulling over the possibilities of shooting intimate scenes, an Instagram user suggested that actors should try using methods of the past like holding flowers as a metaphor for intimate scenes.