Film Production
Fazila Allana, Sandiip Sikcand on new shooting rules for Telugu show ‘Gorintaku’
MUMBAI: Earlier this month the Telangana government granted the permission to resume film and TV shooting as well as post-production work all over the state. While there are challenges there is also relief for being able to start work with safety measures. SOL India – Banijay Group founder and MD Fazila Allana and producer, creative director and actor Sandiip Sikcand have resumed shooting for their Telugu show Gorintaku. According to them, shooting during the pandemic is challenging but not impossible.
Gorintaku is a Telugu daily show that is telecast on Star Maa and streamed on Disney+ Hotstar too.
Allana told indiantelevision.com that the show was already in process with 200 episodes done before the lockdown. The shooting resumed on 18 June with all necessary precautions like masks, gloves, temperature checks, sanitation and safety protocols being diligently followed. Insurance plan has also been introduced for entire cast and crew.
In fact, she highlights that hair and make up artists are using PPE kits to ensure maximum safety. Make up products and brushes are different for different actors. Allana also mentions that as per the guidelines introduced by Star Maa, there are no group scenes and too many outdoor scenes are avoided to keep out crowding. Episodes of weddings or large gatherings are not happening.
Apart from that, there are fewer people in a team. Scripting has been rewritten to facilitate a lot more social distancing. There are no intimate scenes as well so close up chemistry shots are being compromised.
Sikcand also mentiones that children and elderly citizens are not allowed on the set. If required, elderly people are not asked to come more than four times a month.
As per Telegana government’s rule 40 people can be there on the set. However, Sikcand shares that shooting is happening with bare minimum people while the rest stay outside the set.
To make the daily soap more realistic and appealing in the eyes of audience, Covid2019 situation has been included in the script itself. In order to create a bank of fresh episodes, the entire script has been rewritten.
During the scene, the actors are wearing masks, gloves and are also using sanitizers.
He notes that it is taking more time than usual to film a scene. “For the safety and security of cast and crew, I don’t mind slowing down the production. As far as audiences are concerned, they want to see something which is real and natural,” he further says.
Both Allana and Sikcand are hoping that shooting happens smoothly and soon things go back to normal and for now, things need to be done with precautions.
Film Production
Priyanka Kaur Dhillon joins SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution
A seasoned content dealmaker with 16 years in digital and satellite media joins the Bengali entertainment powerhouse as it pushes into the pan-India music market
Mumbai: Priyanka Kaur Dhillon has made her move. The content acquisitions and commercials veteran, most recently commercial manager at Sony Pictures Networks India, has joined SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution, stepping into one of the more interesting briefs in regional entertainment right now.
SVF is no ordinary regional label. Over 30 years it has built a formidable legacy in Bengali cinema and music, driven by culturally resonant storytelling and a catalogue that consistently punches above its weight. Its recent success with Chiraiya underlines the point. But the Kolkata-based powerhouse now has its sights firmly set beyond Bengal, most visibly through Legacy, a rap reality series produced in collaboration with hip-hop label Kalamkaar that signals a deliberate push into the pan-India music ecosystem.
Dhillon brings precisely the kind of muscle SVF needs for that expansion. At Sony Pictures Networks India, she led film acquisition and commercials and handled music licensing across the entire satellite network. Before that, she spent nearly 15 years at Hungama, rising to assistant general manager and leading strategic content licensing for the platform’s digital entertainment business, with a particular focus on international markets. Her label relationships span the full roster: Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Believe International, Tunecore, The Orchard and a clutch of smaller aggregators. She has negotiated and closed deals with Hollywood studios, Bollywood production houses and regional content players alike, building pricing models and deal structures off data analysis rather than instinct.
Announcing the appointment, Dhillon said she was “thrilled to begin this journey with an iconic Bengali music label and content powerhouse,” adding that SVF’s “constant drive to push boundaries” was what drew her to the role.
SVF has spent three decades proving that regional does not mean limited. With a sharp commercial operator now steering its music distribution, its bid to go national just got a good deal more serious.
