The Lockdown Moviemakers: Shoot at home is the new fad

The COVID-19 lockdown has forced closure of film studios as well as outdoor shooting, but that has not stopped an enthusiastic bunch of filmmakers from making films! Shooting at home amid lockdown is the latest trend in B-Town!

The format could be anything — short or feature-length film, a limited series, or a music video — but the key to filmmaking has to be the fact that everything is done within a single house, from pre-production to post-production.

It's not just budding or struggling filmmakers who are at it. When Salman Khan shot an entire music video with Jacqueline Fernandez at his Panvel farmhouse — where he quarantined himself — the signal was loud and clear. In the time of social distancing, Bollywood loves the idea, too!

The song, titled "Tere bina", was shot over four days, and it is his "cheapest production" till date, revealed Salman. The actor has shared that he has learnt a lot while shooting during the lockdown. "It's a learning experience that three people can very easily shoot a song. We didn't need any make-up artist, hair stylist," he said.

Actor Vatsal Sheth turned director with a short film, which he has entirely shot at home during the ongoing lockdown. The film, "Kahaa Toh Tha", running over six minutes, stars the actor with his wife Ishita Dutta, and explores love in the times of quarantine.

The cast and crew of the Instagram-based web-series "Firsts" shot their second season amid the COVID 19 lockdown. Conceptualised, written, and executed by the cast and crew from their respective homes, "Firsts" season 2 narrates the love story of a couple who meet on a dating platform.

Amid the lockdown, actor-comedian Maniesh Paul is playing the host of a new reality show called "Kya Bolti Public", an interactive game show on the Flipkart Video app, being shot at his home. "I have been the stylist, spot boy, cameraman, director, lightman, set guy, actor, host all wrapped into one given that the entire show has been shot from my home. It has been unlike anything I have ever done before and it truly goes to show how we adapt to change," he said in an interview.

Elsewhere, the cast of the Indian version of "The Office", including Mukul Chadda and Gauahar Khan, have reunited virtually for a special 'Working from Home' episode. The 'work from home' special episode showcases the characters joining via video-conferencing, to brainstorm ideas to keep the paper business growing during the nationwide lockdown. The video also stars Sayandeep Sengupta, Abhinav Sharma, Priyanka Setia, Preeti Kochar and Gavin Methalaka, and is written by Aarsh Vora, Shruti Madan and Chirag Mahabal.

Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan has started shooting for the upcoming season of the popular quiz show "Kaun Banega Crorepati" (KBC) amid the COVID-19 lockdown, although not from his home. The veteran actor recently informed about the same in his blog. (IANS) 

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