Opinion: Spurt in COVID-19 cases raises doubts about film industry's commitment to the fight

The film industry may be at least partly to blame if state governments around the country follow Delhi's lead and come down hard on the business in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases.

The third wave seems to be upon us and the industry, the glamorous and public part of it, has clearly been lax in its actions, what with all that flying hither and thither to attend functions no one cares to remember and holiday like there is no tomorrow, not to mention the uncontrollable urge to mingle and party for childish excuses like birthdays when most others who can afford to are trying to hunker down and keep safe distance.

The sad part is that the brunt of this indiscretion will be borne by the unglamorous side of the business, with cinema halls right up on the authorities' list of places to be shut to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2. If that happens, besides the distributors and exhibitors, it will be the junior artistes, technicians and support staff who will take the hit once again.

When they test positive, of course, all these 'influencers' issue a clichéd statement urging the public to stay safe and observe precautions. If only they took their own advice and stayed home and watched their own works or read some literature. That might even have the unintended but welcome consequence of improving the quality of the stuff that they keep dishing out.