The official handle of The Producers Guild of India, on Tuesday, released a media statement on Twitter, announcing their initiative of setting up a relief fund for workers affected by the production shutdown due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The initiative has been taken to support daily wage earners impacted by the complete shutdown of films, television and OTT productions. Siddharth Roy Kapur, who serves as the President of the Producers Guild of India, said in the media statement, "In light of the complete shutdown of all production related activity for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there is bound to be a significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of daily wage earners in the industry. The Producers Guild has decided to set up a relief fund to help support those most affected by the shutdown. We would encourage the entire fraternity to contribute to the fund, to ensure that we can do all we can to minimize the disruption in the lives of our valued colleagues and associates in this difficult time."
Take a look at the media statement here:
Producers Guild of India sets up Relief Fund for workers affected by production shutdown owing to the COVID-19 epidemic-Official Statement#SiddharthRoyKapur @kulmeetmakkar #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/OGARZbDWxl
— producersguildindia (@producers_guild) March 17, 2020
Farhan Akhtar shared the media statement on Twitter and wrote, "Need of the hour. Request all my friends in the film fraternity to donate generously." Take a look at his tweet here:
Need of the hour. Request all my friends in the film fraternity to donate generously. @producers_guild #ReliefFund https://t.co/iWt4pDvlxk
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) March 17, 2020
Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) released a statement on Tuesday, stating that they will distribute ration and basic material of daily needs to needy members of its affiliates. Bollywood trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the statement on Twitter; have a look:
IMPORTANT... FWICE to distribute ration and basic material of daily needs to needy members of its affiliates... OFFICIAL statement... #CoronaVirus #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/zBT8IvQ9uI
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 17, 2020
Several production houses have suspended their administrative and production work due to the outbreak of coronavirus. Ekta Kapoor, on Tuesday, released a statement on social media, stating that Balaji Motion Pictures Limited, Balaji Telefilms Limited and ALTBalaji have shut their office due to coronavirus. "The safety and well-being of our employees, cast and crew is of paramount importance to us. In light of the pandemic spread of the COVID-19 virus, all administrative and production work across Balaji Telefilms Limited, Balaji Motion Pictures Limited and ALTBalaji stands suspended till further notice," read an excerpt from her statement.
Karan Johar's Dharma production has also suspended all work. He released a statement on Monday and wrote, "All of us at Dharma Productions wish for the well-being of the members of our work family and every citizen of the world ...we pray that the world can overcome this situation as soon as possible! God speed to everyone and stay safe and sanitized."
Have a look at his statement here:
Coronavirus outbreak has affected work in several sectors and has led to the suspension of several film and TV projects. First detected in a seafood market in China's Wuhan, COVID-19 has infected over 1.63 lakh people in 100-plus countries around the world, claiming over 6,000 lives. In India, over 142 cases of coronavirus have been detected so far.
