The Producers Guild of India is launching a wide-scale vaccination drive for its members and associated production crews. The multi-day program will be held at Mehboob Studios in Mumbai and will be…
The Producers Guild of India is launching a wide-scale vaccination drive for its members and associated production crews.
The multi-day program will be held at Mehboob Studios in Mumbai and will begin June 1. The intention is to vaccinate thousands of production house personnel and crew. Organizers said that mass vaccination was the only effective weapon in the ongoing battle againstand that they hoped the camp would provide a boost to the country’s mission of attaining universal vaccination, as well as facilitating safer shooting once production returns.
India’s latest wave of coronavirus infections has been devastating for the country, reaching a peak of close to 400,000 confirmed cases per day earlier in May. Hospitals have been overwhelmed and life-saving resources have been hard to come by. However, cases have been dropping gradually over the last two weeks and are now below 200,000 per day. There are hopes that a ramped up vaccination program will see infections continue to plummet but the situation remains precarious.L.A.
At present, the film and TV industry in Mumbai has no firm date for when it will be able to resume production, but there is optimism that July could see some shoots get going again. “An activity of such importance and magnitude cannot be carried out singlehandedly and we are extremely grateful for the support we have received to make this possible,” commented Siddharth Roy Kapur, president of the Producers Guild of India. “In particular from our members Excel Entertainment who played a pivotal role in securing the vaccine and Mehboob Production who very generously offered complimentary use of the spacious Mehboob Studios.