Following the Bombay high court’s decision of 7th August to allow actors over 65 years of age to participate in shootings of films, TV serials and web series, the Maharashtra state government on 19th August said that it was permitting actors and crew members over 65 years old to work. The government, as part of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), had not allowed senior cast and crew members to participate in shootings in view of their vulnerability to contract coronavirus. However, actor Pramod Pandey on 21st July filed a petition in the court which on 7th August ruled that senior actors and crew members could not be restrained from working on the sets. The Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association (IMPPA) also filed a similar petition which was heard jointly with Pandey’s petition.
In view of the court order, the state government had revised its SOPs, said state cultural affairs minister Amit Deshmukh.