Even though the State government has accorded permission for the resumption of film shootings, the work on the sets will begin only after the film bodies come up with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the same.
The Kerala Film Chamber, the Kerala Film Producers’ Association and the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) met on Sunday, and decided to prepare the SOP.
The Producers’ Association will provide clearance to the producers who agree to shoot as per the SOP, which is expected to be finalised by Monday evening.
The FEFKA will also co-operate with the shooting of films which are cleared. Those who enter the sets should have got at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and also must have tested negative in an RT-PCR test.
No one will be allowed into shooting sets without following these conditions. The shooting sets will be turned into a bio-bubble. The shooting of a a film by Kannan Thamarakkulam in Idukki was stopped following the intervention of the film bodies.
The prevailing COVID-19 protocols had brought the entire Malayalam film industry to a halt over the past few months, after the outbreak of the second wave of the pandemic.
With gradual easing in restrictions in some sectors over the past few weeks with the reduction in the number of cases, the film bodies have been urging the government to take a favourable stand regarding film shooting.
The FEFKA had last week written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan questioning the logic of allowing television serials to be shot, even while the restrictions on film shooting continued.
The shooting of some major films, including Bro Daddy , directed by Prithviraj and starring Mohanlal, was shifted to Telangana as the restrictions continued.
Close to seven movies have shifted the shooting to neighbouring States, including Tamil Nadu.
The film bodies also highlighted the plight of the daily wage workers in the sets, who have been struggling hard to earn a living, even though the government and the film bodies have pitched in with financial and other aid during the pandemic for them.
