Alia Bhatt's Gangubai Kathiawadi first to resume shoot in Mumbai, new SOPs prohibit crowd scenes

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi will resume shoot from June 15. Several other movies will follow suit as part of Maharashtra's unlock policy. However, new SOPs don't allow crowd or dance sequences, which will add to the woes of the daily-wage workers.

With new SOPs and massive vaccination drives for all members of the film fraternity, shoots in Mumbai resumed on June 7 at Film City, Goregaon. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi, which stopped shooting after the lockdown in the city was announced back in April, will be the first film to resume work on June 15. While it had been a tough time for everyone in the entertainment industry, the daily-wage workers and junior artists, especially the background dancers, have suffered the most and don't see much hope for themselves in the future either. The new SOPs, much like the previous ones, totally prohibits the shooting of dance or crowd sequences as well, and therefore these artists stand to suffer more. Several background dancers have been rendered almost jobless since March 2020. After the first lockdown, only 35 per cent of people got work. The second lockdown has made matters worse.