Now, the Assam Police has come up with a Bollywood twist to teach people the importance of social distancing.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is one of the most loved Bollywood actors who has a massive fan following across the globe. Currently, SRK is at home with his family and trying to make the most of his free time. He made headlines recently after he took a jibe at himself, stating that he has been under home quarantine with wife Gauri Khan since one and a half year. He reacted to Gauri’s post about two Shah Rukh Khan. “Two much to handle,” she worte, to which SRK replied, “Aur for the last 1 year & 6 months Dono ghar pe hain..!!!”

The tweet from Assam Police used references from his movies ‘Baazigar’ and ‘Yes Boss’. Sharing an image of Shah Rukh Khan’s iconic pose with open arms and with mask on his face, they stressed on the importance of social distancing of atleast 6 feet.

The tweet read, “Social Distancing can save lives. Or as @iamsrk would say, “Kabhi kabhi paas aane ke liye door jaana padta hai, aur door jakar paas aane walon ko Baazigar kehte hai.” Stay six feet apart and be a Baazigar! 3SocialDistancing #IndiaFightsCorona.”

On the work front, reports suggest that SRK is currently preparing for Rajkumar Hirani’s upcoming project and would be heading to Punjab in august to commence the shoot.

Bollywood actor, Shakti Kapoor, who is self-quarantined at home with his family is also not on-board with the idea of resuming shoots. In an interview with ETimes, he opened up about not being comfortable with Bollywood commencing shoots of their stalled projects so soon. He said, “I will not go out and work for now, nor will I allow my daughter Shraddha to resume work. I don’t think the threat is gone. I feel the worst is yet to come. I won’t let my children out for now. I know work is important but not at the cost of one’s life. It will be very chaotic if people start shooting now. I tell industry people in our group that it is better to wait than pay hospital bills. It is still a very bad state of affairs outside.”

Adding to this, he said, “There are no beds in the hospitals and they are charging a bomb to treat people. There was this news where a person was kept tied to his bed in the hospital because he was unable to pay his bills. I am going to make a video on this too. The world has become a very sad place now. There is no humanity left.”

Though the new Government Resolution issued by Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray has given a green signal to start the shooting, there is still a lot of uncertainty among the industry people. Ashok Dubey of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) recently told Bombay Times that the shootings might not start before July.

With the nationwide lockdown imposed at the later half of March, many projects got stuck in between shoots. Shraddha Kapoor’s Baaghi 3 was among the last films to have opened in theatres. On the other side, Shakti Kapoor, who is known for his comc roles as well as for this villainous characters, will next be seen in Priyadarshan’s Hungama 2, a sequel to the director’s 2003 hit Hungama.

Hence, with the similar intention of spreading hope and positivity, Director Arunjit Borah along with his dedicated team has come up with an experimental lockdown video titled “SUNBEAM” that captures artists and people around the globe who are sharing their thoughts about this difficult times, yet staying positive.

Borah is a Mumbai based Indian filmmaker and have been working actively since 2015 as a director for variety of short films, ad films and soon will be releasing his debut feature film ‘Midnight Song.’

In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Rupaliparda.com, the team has expressed their thoughts and emotions regarding their video, SUNBEAM.

Talking to Director Arunjit Borah, it was clear that he has felt the situation deeply and could understand the emotions of everyone who felt the same. He says, “The world is going through a difficult time, perhaps one of the most difficult times in the history of the mankind. However, though COVID-19 has brought in so much fear, anxiety and depression into the world, on a positive note, this has come as a blessing in disguise as well. The bright side of the situation is, this has brought the whole world together, helping us realize the fact that we are human first inspite of differences of race, language, religion, demography or skin colour, having exactly the same kind of emotions inside us. On individual front also, this has helped us providing the break to introspect and be freer, expressive and nourish our creative sides.”

He added, “I firmly believe that the end of this crisis will transform the world by changing the way we have been thinking and living. The brighter days are sure to come. There is always a bright sun at the end of a dark night.”

SUNBEAM is an experimental lockdown video where every participant filmed themselves from their respective homes. Everything for the video was done remotely, name it direction, writing, editing, music or filming. None of them stepped out of their house but still have successfully completed the video with a strong message in it. The video has been made considering all the lockdown rules and regulations. It is a 3 minutes video comprising of 9 personalities from 9 countries spreading the hope of positivity.

Speaking to Associate Producer, Stanley Coelho from Chicago who expressed his reason for being a part of SUNBEAM. He said, “This Global Experimental Lockdown Project had a purpose, and I think we were able to achieve it through this video. You may not understand the language of every participant from different parts of the world but they bring one strong message for all of us, TO BE ONE AND TO BE POSITIVE.”

SUNBEAM’s Assistant Director and writer of the Hindi poem, PriyashreeKashyap says, “Working on a project like SUNBEAM at a time like this is a creative stimulation. The content of the video is so beautiful and positive that it is motivating. And after hearing the concept and vision of my director Arunjit, I was clear how the poetry should sound and feel. Even while sitting at home we have worked really hard and with all sincerity. Hope the positivity that we experienced while making it, people experience the same while watching the video.”

Rantu Chetia. The Editor of SUNBEAM says, “It’s been a unique experience as we collaborated with people from different parts of the world. And the motto is to defeat the pandemic. Great to be able to stand with the people at this time of crisis.

Lastly, we had MayurNagpal, who worked on the background scores. He says, “The kind of music I’m making for the film is orchestrally inclined and portrays motivation and hope. As we know that it’s tough time for all of us and with the film we are trying to spread the message of unity and that we are all in this scenario together globally and we’ll get through this soon only if we stay positive and hope for the better future.”

The team of SUNBEAM:

DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, CREATOR-Arunjit Borah

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-PriyashreeKashyap

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER- Stanley Coelho from Chicago

CONTENT WRITER- Rajdweep

HINDI POEM-PriyashreeKashyap

BACKGROUND MUSIC-Mayur Nagpal

EDITOR-Rantu Chetia

PARTICIPANTS- AhcitzAzcona from Mexico, MarwaKamel from Egypt, Sonia Melnyk from Ukraine, JaninaPritzker from Viana, Chiao-lin ho from Taiwan, ShirinCaiola from Italy, Wale Anifowose from Africa, Caron Fallon from USA and Bollywood actor RakeshChaturvedi OM from India.

Just like anyone else, Digangana Suryavanshi is also going through a tough time. She was busy shooting for two films when the lockdown was declared. In the interview with BollywoodLife, the actress said, “I’m in the middle of frustration and reality. At times, I feel when is this going to end while on the other days I take it like a healing phase. I’ve mood swings. But the vibe of being on a set is something else.”

She has been trying to keep herself busy entertaining her viewers with her singing videos. She says, “I’m a good singer since childhood. My parents love Hindi film music. I grew up listening to Kishore Kumar songs. I was heartbroken when I came to know, at the age of ten that he was no more. I’m very sentimental about music. It is another level of entertainment when everyone is home.

The crisis and unemployment has been felt by every job and business industries, which comprises of the entertainment industry too. The daily wage workers and junior artistes have been badly affected. She concluded saying, “See, we do have associations in our industry but we need a system in place. The government has to set up the system. Film industries are set up in certain states and the aid needed won’t be a huge one. It only needs co-ordination between a certain sections of people. It is sad that the government is not seeing this as a problem. There are technicians, comedians and artistes who do not know what to do right now. We’ve a huge number of daily wage workers so this lockdown does not make sense for them. The government needs to understand that all actors are not ‘self-sufficient’ as the rest. All of us have been through phases of uncertainty. They need to take it seriously. There are economic packages for all sections. It has taken them 45 days to figure something out.”

এই পৰীক্ষামূলক লক-ডাউন ভিডিঅ’টোত অৰুণজিৎ বৰাই অন্য ৯ খন দেশত অন্তৰ্ভূক্ত ৯ জন ভিন্ন ব্যক্তিত্বৰ পৰা তেওঁলোকৰ “লক-ডাউন”ক লৈ থকা কিছু ধনাত্মক মতামত লৈ এই ভিডিঅ’টো প্ৰস্তুত কৰিছে। এই সন্দৰ্ভত ৰূপালীপৰ্দাৰ সৈতে হোৱা কথা-বতৰাত তেওঁ কয় যে, “আমি সকলো বৰ্তমান একগোট হৈ জীয়াই আছো। কোনো অন্য দেশত হোৱা কাজিয়া তথা কোনো ঘটনাক সমগ্ৰ দেশৰ জনসাধাৰণে একেলগে হৃদয়ংগম নকৰে অথবা কেতিয়াবা কৰিব নোৱাৰে। কিন্তু, আমি বৰ্তমান সকলোৱে একগোট হৈ যুঁজ দিছো এই মহামাৰীটোৰ বিৰুদ্ধে; বৰ্তমান এক হৈ পৰিছো আমি। এনেক্ষেত্ৰত আমাৰ মনোভাৱ; দৃষ্টিভংগী সকলো এক হৈছে। আমি জিকিমেই গতিকে জনসাধাৰণৰ মনবোৰো ধনাত্মক হৈ থকাটো ভাল আৰু ইয়াৰ বাবেই মই এই তিনি মিনিট ভিডিঅ’টোৰ দ্বাৰা এক প্ৰচেষ্টা হাতত লৈছো যাতে মানুহৰ মানসিক অশান্তিবোৰ কিছু দূৰ কৰিব পাৰো। ভিডিঅ’টো প্ৰস্তুত কৰিবলৈ আমি কোনো ধৰণৰ নীতি-নিয়মৰ উলংঘা কৰা নাই।”

অৰুণজিৎ বৰাৰ এই প্ৰকল্পটোৰ নাম হৈছে “Sunbeam”। ইয়াৰ পৰিচালক ও প্ৰযোজক হৈছে অৰুণজিৎ বৰা লগতে সহঃ পৰিচালক হৈছে প্ৰিয়াশ্ৰী কাশ্যপ। ইয়াত সহঃ প্ৰযোজনা চিকাগো স্থিত Stanley Sunil Coelho ৰ। আনহাতে, বিষয়বস্ত লেখক হৈছে ৰাজদ্বীপ আৰু ভিডিঅ’টোত অন্তৰ্ভূক্ত হিন্দী কবিতাটি হৈছে প্ৰিয়াশ্ৰী কাশ্যপৰ লগতে আৱহ সংগীত ময়ূৰ নাগপালৰ। সম্পাদনা কৰিছে ৰন্তু চেতিয়াই লগতে ভিডিঅ’টোত থকা ৯ গৰাকী শিল্পী হৈছে ক্ৰমে Ahcitz Azcona (Mexico), Marwa Kamel (Egypt), Sonia Melnyk (Ukraine) , Janina Pritzker (Viana) , Chiao-lin ho (Taiwan), Shirin Caiola (Italy), Wale Don (Africa), Carol Fallon (USA) আৰু বলীউড অভিনেতা Rakesh Chaturvedi OM (ভাৰতবৰ্ষ)।

অৰুণজিৎ বৰা তেওঁৰ আগন্তুক ছবি “মিডনাইট চং” ক লৈও আশাবাদী। যুৱপ্ৰজন্মই ছবিখন আকোঁৱালি লোৱাৰ আশা ব্যক্ত কৰে তেওঁ। পৰিচালক গৰাকীৰ মতে, “মিডনাইট চং” য়ে বৰ্তমানলৈ যিসমূহ ছবি সমাৰোহত প্ৰদৰ্শন কৰা হৈছে সেই আটাইবোৰতেই ই সঁহাৰি লাভ কৰিছে।” লগতে তেওঁ ছবিখনত অভিনীত ৰূপম চেতিয়া, কল্পনা কলিতা তথা মনোজ বৰকটকীৰ অভিনয়ৰো প্ৰশংসা কৰে।

Kunal Kamra recently tweeted, “While each rupee counts I appreciate the hell out of Comrade @anuragkashyap72 who is giving away his 2013 gangs of Wasseypur critics award to the highest donor of this charity with my YouTube button. Lin- milaap.org/fundraiser/su… I urge other artists to help in their way!

Responding to comedian Kamra’s call for artists to support the cause, Anurag tweeted his announcement, “Highest bidder gets the original trophy for the Filmfare critics award best film 2013. Gangs of Wasseypur.”

Kunal has also added that he was auctioning off his YouTube button for the cause. Also, writer Varun Grover has said that he will put up his award for ‘Moh Moh Ke Dhaage’ from ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisa’ for the auction. He said, “Adding the TOIFA trophy I won for ‘Moh Moh Ke Dhaage’ (DLKH, 2015) for charity auction to raise funds for Covid test kits. Putting it up on ebay in 2050 was my retirement fund plan but I believe now is a better time to use it to secure India’s future.”

Kunal has given the details about the campaign in his tweet as, “We need more RT-PCR kits. This is the fastest confirmatory test kit in India. Mylab is an Indian company making it at 0 profit. I’ve adopted a kit which costs Rs. 1,34,000/- for my home city Mumbai. You can do the same, I’m giving my YouTube button away to the highest donor, I urge all artists to give away their priced possessions towards charity in such difficult times. While every penny counts the highest donor will get the button. Email your donation screenshots to: contact @kunalkamra.in.”

The proceeds from the auction will be transferred directly from Milaap Foundation to Mylab Discovery Solutions, which will help Burda Media India secure the testing kits which will be then donated to various hospitals and labs.

Producer Boney Kapoor recently informed that his domestic help, Charan Sahu, 23 years, who used to stay at his residence at Green Acres, Lokhandwala Complex was tested positive for coronavirus.

It has come to light that Charan was unwell on Saturday evening and Boney Kapoor sent him for tests and kept in isolation. After receiving the test report, the Society Authorities were informed who in turn informed BMC. The BMC along with the State Government Authorities immediately came into action and helped him get into quarantine centre.

Boney added, “Myself, my children and the other staff at home are all fine and none of us are showing any symptoms. In fact, we haven’t left our home since the lockdown started. We are thankful to the Govt of Maharashtra and BMC for their swift response. We shall be diligently following the instructions and advice given to us by BMC and their medical team. We are sure that Charan would soon recover and be back at home with us.”

Charan, who has been unwell since Saturday evening was kept in isolation following the tests. The help subsequently tested positive for coronavirus. After receiving the report, the resident welfare association of the housing society were informed, who in turn informed BMC. BMC and the State Government authorities then took Charan to the quarantine centre.

অভিনেত্ৰী কল্পনা কলিতাই এইকেইদিনত নিজ পৰিয়ালৰ সদস্য সকলৰ সৈতে সময় অতিবাহিত কৰাৰ লগতে নিজক ফিট আৰু পজিটিভ ৰখাৰো চেষ্টা অব্যাহত ৰখা বুলি মন্তব্য কৰে। আনহাতে, পৰিচালক অৰুণজিৎ বৰাইও “লক-ডাউন” ৰ ফলত নিজৰ লগত ঘটা কিছু ধনাত্মক বিষয়ৰ ওপৰত মত পোষণ কৰে। উল্লেখ্য যে, এই ভিডিঅ’ সমূহৰ দ্বাৰা ইজনে আনজনক টেগ কৰাও দেখিবলৈ পোৱা গৈছে।

কোৱা বাহুল্য যে, প্ৰত্যেকটো বস্তুৰ ক্ষেত্ৰত পজিটিভ-নিগেটিভ এই দুই ভিন্ন কথা সোমাই থাকে। ইয়াৰ ভিতৰত কোনটো অধিক গ্ৰহণযোগ্য সেয়া নিৰ্ভৰ কৰে ব্যক্তিবিশেষৰ ওপৰত। বৰ্তমান এই পজিটিভ বাৰ্তা সমূহকেই সকলোৰে ওচৰত প্ৰেৰণ কৰাৰ পদক্ষেপ গ্ৰহণ কৰিছে জুবলি ফাউণ্ডেছনে।

Sooner or later, the shooting for the silver screens will resume. But what about the intimate scenes when hugging and kissing are a big NO-NO? Are we going back to the yesteryears’ romantic scene?

“Do phool takrayenge, aur hum samajh jaayenge.” Actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik quips as he conjectures how romantic and intimate scenes could rewind to the 70s and 80s in the post COVID-19 era. But on a serious note, considering how new rules of on-screen intimacy, emotional and physical are being outlined across the world in these times of social distancing. “Now safety is more important than passionate scenes. A change is evident,” says Kaushik.

There are various questions regarding how the shooting could resume. Will the camera angles manage the scenes? Will the actors agree? What measures might be taken each time during the shoots? These innumerable questions are being pondered upon. Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar had raised the question recently on Instagram: “How the ciema world conducts shooting intimate scenarios in films to be seen and planned, after all this is over. Especially, the intimate kissing/hugging scenes. How close or how far.. or cheat story telling in those intimate scenes for sometime

Actor Dia Mirza replied to his post saying, “Guru, the entire process of making film is intimate!”, screenwriter-director Hitesh Kewalya says in a country like India where we believe in working shoulder-to-shoulder, it’s difficult to maintain social distancing to begin with.” “The same is reflected in our films. Things won’t be easy, but we’ve to find a way even while shooting intimate scenes,” says the Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan director, recounting that even when actor Manu Rishi Chadha had developed a skin infection, which they initially mistook for chicken pox, while they were shooting the film, they ensured he was quarantined.

Kewalya, who is currently writing his next directorial, a romantic film, speaks about the current scenario, “I can’t do that, or else I won’t be able to write. After all it’s a love story!”

Cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee, who is currently working on Gangubai Kathiawadi belives “physical and emotional intimate scenes can be managed by putting the actors who would be performing these scenes in quarantine and monitor their health before shooting, or with certain camera angles, technology and visual effects.”

Though, nowadays, intimate scenes often become a talking point and generate interest among the public, TV and OTT content, trade expert Atul Mohan feels not many actors would be ready to take the risk of doing such scenes for now. He adds, “Quarantining cast and crew together won’tbe easy.”

Intimacy coordinator, Amanda Cutting, who has worked on web series Mastram and also on an unaired prequel pilot for Game of Thrones, points out that protocols have already being put in place in Spain, Australia and Italy, and India could take a cue from them. But doing COVID-19 tests for the entire cast and crew, maintaining hygiene and sanitization, and employing smaller crews will be vital.

Censor board member and writer Mihir Bhuta says regulations from the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health, in this regard are awaited.

Bhuta added, “These physical or emotionally intimate scenes usually involve two people. That can be done by getting them tested and quarantining them. But that would be difficult for over 25 people on the set. The bigger concern is to get back to work, and we don’t see that happening before July or even September.”

Bharti and Kapil seems to be making holiday plans while struggling to go through this phase of COVID-19 lockdown. She added that they share a bond similar to that of a brother and sister.

In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Bharti told, “I share a great bond with Kapil Bhai. I may not talk to anyone else but I definitely talk to Kapil and his wife daily. As he is fond of travelling, we keep making travel plans for the next year. And every evening around 6-7, he would call me and joke saying ‘should we go to Greece first?’ The bond between us is like brother and sister.”

 When asked about how she is spending her time during this lockdown, the comedian said, “During the lockdown, I remain busy in household chores. Since there are no domestic helps, we have to do everything from sweeping to mopping and washing utensils on our own. I am also enjoying this phase because I am getting to do this after years.”

Expressing her grief on the current scenario, Bharti said, “I’m not irritated. I’m just sad. I’m safe because I’m staying at home. And I’m sad because our country was functioning well and suddenly this virus came and halted everything. Mumbai, where I live, had never stopped functioning even in the toughest of times. But this virus stopped not just Mumbai, but the whole country and in fact the whole world. There are many daily wage workers who are deprived of income. While we are taking care of our staff, there are many out there like labourers, construction workers. I feel bad for them. I just hope this situation improves soon and we return to normal.

Bharti, who is also a pet-lover opened up about her social work she has been doing during this lockdown. She said, “I’m a pet lover, especially dogs, and have been doing social work even before the lockdown began. I’m associated with an organization names AM-PM vet care through which I lend a helping hand for medications, shelter and food for dogs. Other than this, we are also making sure that we help all those from our industry who are facing a tough time, especially those who earn on a daily basis.”

On the work front, Bharti revealed that she and her husband, Harsh Limbachiyya are shooting for their upcoming TV show, ‘Hum, Tum Aur Quarantine.’ She added, “Besides this, he is also helping me a lot in the household chores. Initially, he was unable to do it, but it has been two months and by now he knows well that he has to sweep the floors and dust the house. So he completes work designated to on time.”

Also, currently Bharti is judging an online campaign, #GharBaitheBanoLakhpati on VMate. She said, “One thing I really liked about the project is that many people are stuck in their homes and are left with no source of income. And in this situation, this has given them a great option to earn money by creating videos. People living in villages and remote areas certainly have smartphones. There might be crisis for ‘roti’ but there isn’t any for internet. And hence many people are earning from home, which is great.”