Cover of Ali Peter John’s first book published when he was 50 years old, designed by the famous painter MF Husain. The inaugural function was organised by film star-cum-politician Sunil Dutt and it was attended by the crème de la crème of Mumbai cinema including Dev Anand.

By Ali Peter John

It is not Gabbar Singh or Mogambo who are the most fearsome villains of Bollywood. The tiny coronavirus which cannot even be seen with a naked eye has spread fear and unemployment in the biggest film industry in the world.

I HAVE seen several shades and colours of fear, but never have I seen fear looking so fierce and dangerous. And all this fear is because of a tiny or even invisible worm or virus which has not only injected fear into human beings, but it seems like it has even terrified all the gods and goddesses who have been looking on helplessly as the virus continues to wreck the lives of millions all over the world. And if the fear of the virus called coronavirus can threaten the world, then what is a small part of the world which is known to us as Bollywood?
Bollywood (a word which I loathe with all my heart) was like any other industry brought to its knees by the caronavirus since March 2020 when every section of the industry came to a crunching halt and all activities associated with the making of films had to stop, all activities stopped, and all the big stars, filmmakers and down to the junior artistes, dancers and fighters, stayed at home, which is not the best way to work for them.
And there is rampant unemployment in every field of filmmaking and the only ones who could still afford to have their roti kapda and makaan without any great difficulty were the superstars, the stars and those who made the stars. The majority were jobless for a year and more and it looked like doomsday had dawned for them and it was worst for those who fell victim to the virus and for those who died as victims of the virus. The industry called Bollywood has very rarely seen and experienced so much of disappointment, desolation and the worst and damaging ailment of the mind called depression.

TEMPORARY RELIEF

BUT, after suffering a bad year, the lockdown was relaxed and Bollywood leaped into action without worrying about the consequences. Theatres opened with restrictions, some films were also shot under tight security and workers, technicians, junior artists and dancers were happy to find work again.
But, all their joy was to be only a temporary relief because the second wave of the virus stuck more violently and left thousands and even lakhs in the lurch and even on the roads where poverty hit them in their faces, and they kept calling for help from all their gods and the cardboard gods of the industry; but what could they or their gods do when the made up gods of their world failed to do anything for them because they too were in the same circumstances, but their sufferings were limited.
Ever since that evening when Chief Minister of Maharatshtra Uddhav Thackeray spoke to the people about his plans to clamp a curfew like situation and just wish away the world of entertainment without offering it any relief, Bollywood has gone into a dark shell again, with all activities from shooting to recording to theatres have all come to a standstill all over again. Let’s take a look of how some of the god-like stars have been affected.
The release of Akshay Kumar’s “Sooryawansham” which was to be released last year has again been postponed indefinitely. The Akshay Kumar starrer “Ram Setu” had started in Ayodhya and the shooting was then shifted to Mumbai, but Akshay and a number of members of the unit tested positive for Covid-19 and they all had to go in for quarantine, isolation and other forms of treatment, all of which meant that shooting of “Ram Setu” would have to be postponed for a future date, which meant a loss of several crore and the makers would have to find ways to get out of the tricky situation Corona has got them into.

AMITABH FILMS

AMITABH, the man who was shooting for films like “Midday” for producer Ajay Devgn and “Good Boy” which he was shooting for Ekta Kapoor, and “The Tenet” with Deepika Padukone, had to be pushed for shooting to a suitable and safe date. His earlier film “Chehre” which was to be released first in April 16 was postponed to April 23 and in the light of the dismal situation, it has been postponed again to an uncertain date.
Amitabh has other films like “Jhund” and “Brahamastra” ready for release since the last one year, but still there is no signs of the film which is considered the most expensive film to be released. It seems so very dicey to think about this kind of a situation, but things have to go on and a way has to be found to get out of this unexpected and unfortunate mess.
Shah Rukh Khan was making a much expected comeback with “Pathan” which he was doing for Yash Raj Films. He had Deepika Padukone as his leading lady and the film is to have cameos by Salman Khan and Amir Khan. The shooting of “Pathan” was going on in full swing when the wicked Carona stuck and the film will now have to be shot at an opportune time which is now entirely dependent on the mood of Madam Carona.
The ambitious film of Salman Khan, “Radhe, The Bhai You Love” and Aamir Khan’s “Laal Singh Chadda” will also be released at some other date then they were supposed to hit the screen. And as I write, there is official news that Kangana Ranaut’s “Thalaivi” has also been postponed indefinitely. And even a showman like Subhash Ghai who has been planning to start his small film “36 Farmhouse” with a new actor called Alok Parashar will also have to wait till Corana is kind to him.
And the list of the victims of the virus in Bollywood continues. And if there are people who I am truly concerned about it is all those young men and women who had high hopes of making their mark in 2020 or 2021. Will the rapid spread of the infection coronavirus infection nip their careers before they can even dream of blooming?
And what about all those daily wage earners who are right now living a very uncertain and a hand-to-mouth existence in their dark, gloomy rooms in places like MHADA, Aram Nagar, Adarsh Nagar and Ganesh Nagar?

(Ali Peter John is a veteran film journalist who was the Editor of the Screen, a broad sheet film weekly brought out by the Indian Express Group)