The upcoming movie “Looop Lapeta” starring Taapsee Pannu could become the first film to be covered for COVID-19 insurance in Bollywood. The producers of the movie, Atul Kasbekar and Tanujj Garg are in talks with a legal expert to get COVID-19 insurance for their projects, and “Looop Lapeta” is expected to be the first amongst their line-ups to be covered by the insurance scheme. “Looop Lapeta” is the Indian adaptation of Tom Tywer’s 1998 German hit, “Run Lola Run”. The movie also features Tahir Raj Bhasin.
“We are still in talks with a legal expert Anand Desai. What a COVID-19 insurance will essentially entail is the same as what an accident insurance covers. Insuring a film so far entailed guarding the film against unforeseen incidents like illness of an actor or occurrence of natural calamities leading to delays in the film schedule. Because COVID-19 is relatively new, we are still working upon the details but essentially works in a similar fashion,” said Kasbekar.
“For instance, a crew member tests positive, the entire movie crew might have to be possibly quarantined. In that case, the producers will be covered from the money they are spending on days lost,” he added.
Kasbekar also said that the insurance will protect their crew just as much. In case any of the key members of the crew test positive, they won’t be replaced unduly. “There are a lot of permutations and combinations to be worked upon. But one of the key things to keep in mind is that a fair number of people will potentially be exposed at a film set and filmmakers trust a certain set of people on the job. So, in case, the DOP of a film were to test positive mid-film, it is likely to stall the shoot of the movie till he recovers or till a suitable replacement is found double quick to retain the visual language of the motion picture. So there are these points being discussed. Tanujj and I are working on a draft of the insurance and hoping that it materializes soon,” he said.
The shooting of ‘Looop Lapeta’ was scheduled for April and May in Mumbai and Goa. But as most of the shooting needed to be done outdoors,, the team has reworked on the dates completely following the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Add comment