Producer Anand Pandit: We must learn to accept that we can take nothing for granted

Producer Anand Pandit

The world came to a standstill after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the governments to issue lockdowns across the globe. In India, the first lockdown was initiated in March 2020. Several industries were hit hard by the pandemic. The film industry was one that was hit the hardest. With theatres across the nation shutting down and shooting stalled indefinitely, the once-thriving Bollywood industry had to hit a pause button. The pandemic scripted a tale of unprecedented challenges for the flourishing industry that came to a screeching halt in 2020. But eventually, the lockdown was eased and the film industry reopened with new vigour accepting the new normal and new challenges to shoot in these difficult times.

As we approach a year of the first nationwide lockdown, producer Anand Pandit, who has three films lined up for release Chehre, The Big Bull and Well Done Baby, in an exclusive chat with mid-day.com talked about his learning from the COVID-19 pandemic and also on how we must be grateful of what we have. The Big Bull producer on the challenges of shooting in this new normal said, "Well, who would have imagined that producers like me would have COVID-19 watchdogs on sets? Or that we would have to shoot with masks, sanitisation tunnels and social distancing in an industry that thrives on the synergy between close-knit teams at work. But then here we are, still standing tall, having survived not just the worst, most uncertain months of the lockdown but making films, and releasing them, believe it or not, in theatres."

Anand Pandit further added, "Our films Chehre and The Big Bull are ready to release in theatres and on OTT platform respectively in April and I feel things have come full circle after an entire year of dealing with one curveball after another. But to be frank, life is nothing if not unpredictable and we must learn to accept that we can take nothing for granted and must appreciate every blessing that we have."

When asked about how his life has changed in this unpredictable year of the pandemic and what lessons has he learned from it, the Chehre producer was quick to reply, "Oh, the lessons and changes in the past year were many. We learnt to do without experiences that we thought were essential for us, like travel, socialising and having public celebrations. We learnt to cope with the idea that a pandemic can affect everything and everyone, including a thriving industry like ours. What the past year also taught us is humility, patience, hope and resilience and the true value of family bonds and friendships. And it taught us to extend our circle of family to include those who were hit the hardest by the pandemic."

Producer Anand Pandit's Chehre is a mystery thriller directed by Rumy Jafry, and is all set to get a theatrical release on April 9, 2021. The film unites Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi for the first time. Besides Amitabh and Emraan, the film also features Rhea Chakraborty, Krystle D'Souza, Annu Kapoor, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Raghubir Yadav, and Siddhanth Kapoor. As for The Big Bull, which stars Abhishek Bachchan and Ileana D'Cruz is all set to release digitally on April 8.