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Covid-19: TV serial shootings resume in Kerala after relaxations in lockdown

Kochi - About 40 Malayalam serials are shot on any given day.

With the Kerala government easing restrictions on the shooting of televisions serials and films, thousands of people involved in their production, from actors to camera personnel, other technicians, artists and ordinary workers are relieved that the long shutdown has finally come to an end.

Mollywood, as the Malayalam film industry is known, was relieved after Kerala chief minister announced that serial shoots can begin in the state. "Without any public interaction, adhering all the Covid-19 preventive measures, with minimal crew and other strict restrictions, TV serial shoots can be resumed,” he said on Tuesday. “Currently, the permission is only for indoor shoots.”

Film and TV shoots were stopped on April 29 in Kerala following the sharp spurt in Covid-19 cases. After the state lifted the lockdown this month, representatives of the Association of Television Media Artists met government leaders and urged them to allow shooting of serials.

“We were all waiting for the relaxation of the lockdown guidelines,” M. Renjith, producer of Swanthanam, a popular serial, told the media. “Making serials is a business that gives low margin to the producer; it is imperative that we need to work on a regular basis.” The shooting of the serial began on Thursday.

According to Renjith about 40 Malayalam serials are shot on any given day. “One can imagine how many lives depend on them,” he said. “Serials are also the main source of entertainment in most households.”