Anees Bazmee: Everyone’s lives will turn upside down even more if there’s a third lockdown

Filmmaker Anees Bazmee is frustrated and saddened by the current situation that everyone is in. “If a third lockdown comes in toh jo pehle takleef hui thi, usse zyaada ab hogi. Everyone’s lives will be turned upside down,” rues the 59-year-old, whose film Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 has been impacted by the repeated lockdowns.

The Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani-starrer is slated for release this year. 

Bazmee says that the current situation and uncertainty is leading to more tension in an already stressful profession like filmmaking, apart from the increased cost of production in the industry. 

“Making people stand around, giving them masks, getting them vaccinated, then providing them with sanitisers, making sure everyone is at a safe distance from each other…Earlier, it would be okay with 10 vanity vans, but now we need to have 20. Humara bahut kharcha hua hai,” laments Bazmee, while refusing to talk further about what’s happening to his film. 

He then goes on to add how theatres shutting down in a key market like Delhi and the imposition of night curfews in various states are impacting the business.

“As it is, the occupancy (in cinema halls) was 50%, and Delhi mein theatre band ho gaye. Just think about those films which were already running, how many losses they would have had to incur. Hum log bahut tension mein hain,” the filmmaker ends.