Coronavirus: Ekta Kapoor shuts Balaji offices 1st time ever, others adopt 'work from home'

Unprecedented scenes are being witnessed with the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic spreading panic across the world. As the state governments issued advisories on closing educational institutions, theatres and malls while urging citizens to avoid stepping out as far as possible, Ekta Kapoor shut her offices for the first time. Filmmakers like Ronnie Screwvala and Hansal Mehta have also asked their teams to adopt ‘work from home.’ 

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Ekta Kapoor, who has been in the industry for around 25 years, wrote that her teams have worked during floods, terror attacks and bank holidays, but this was the first time they were shutting. The producer added that it was not about ‘spirit but safety’ as even the temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras were closed. She urged her team to be safe, by sharing that all they had was prayers, humanity and each other.  

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She also shared a statement from her production house that all production and administrative work was suspended till further notice. The team was following all measures as suggested by the government, while expressing confidence about showing resilience and bouncing back, the statement read. 

Here’s the post 

Veteran producer Ronnie Screwvala shared that he had moved all his offices across India to ‘work from home’ approach. He believed that the approach will help in improving productivity, learning to be sharper in communication and effective in results. 

Hansal Mehta had asked on Twitter if he should ask his producers to stop edit for a few days, as his edit team was working from the office. The filmmaker asked if it was unfair for them to be exposed to infection though the chances of were less due to screening. He later tweeted that the producers had taken a call and allowed the team to work from home. 

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The coronavirus/COVID-19 cases have risen to 137, with three deaths in India. Shooting of films and other means of entertainment have been asked to be put on hold by associations from March 19-31. Films set for release at the end of March, have been postponed indefinitely. 

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