Sudhir Mishra: Hope this nonsense of communalising coronavirus stops

“I hope this nonsense of communalising the virus stops. I hope we realise we are all one. We have to keep our politics and our different opinions on the political structure of the country apart when things like this happen,” the filmmaker told reporters over a Zoom call.

Mishra said the pandemic stands to completely change all aspects of entertainment, from film shootings to theatrical viewing.

“I see a lot of changes. Most of the difficulties will be faced by those who shoot. I don’t know how 250 people will shoot till a vaccine is not in place… Will you test everyone, then head outdoor to shoot?

“Post this, we will start living differently, being cautious would become a habit. When will people start venturing into cinema halls, perhaps OTT will become more important, maybe the big films will directly release online, we will get to know in the next one-and-a-half years,” he said.

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Mishra said these are extremely difficult times for the daily wage workers and one should help them in any which way possible.

“We have to start looking at ourselves totally anew. Like Dharavi. I think you have to do a lot for those people. It is a rich man’s virus which has been transferred to the poor and they are the ones who will suffer the most. They didn’t go to China or on holidays to Spain.”

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The filmmaker’s webseries Hostages recently made its TV debut on Star Plus. Many channels are airing their web content on television during the lockdown which has made it impossible to shoot for daily episodes.

The first season of the Hotstar Special featured Tisca Chopra and Ronit Roy in the lead.