Even as the conflict between US-Isreal and Iran wages on, India has been hit with an LPG crisis, which has affected the functioning of hotels and canteens. It looks like the crisis has not reached film sets yet, but it is beginning to affect the way the crew on set eats. Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA) released a statement that the shooting of nearly 18 movies might be affected.
KFPA warns of ₹5 crore loss and 18 films stalled
B Rakesh, president of KFPA, told The Hindu, “We have stock for two more days. But the situation will turn difficult if it persists.” Shooting for around 18 films is currently underway in Kerala, and he warns that the film industry will be badly hit if they’re not provided with cylinders.
“The total loss estimated for the producers of the 18 movies is around ₹5 crore, once we are forced to cancel the shooting in view of the crisis. It is not easy to reorganise the entire crew and other logistics, once we have to break the shooting process midway,” he says.
Mollywood uses wood in lieu of gas
An OnManorama report states that a typical lunch on a Kerala film set features rice, chapati, chicken, fish, vegetables and curries, while idli, dosa, appam and uppamavu are served for breakfast. Rice gruel, lentils, dry fish, chapati, chicken and vegetable curries are served for dinner. The FEFKA has allocated a standard menu, plus tea and coffee are available throughout the day, as per production controller Sidhu Panakkal. A single film location may require up to 5 gas cylinders per day to meet demand. Cooking on location begins at 3 AM, with breakfast for the crew served by 7:30 AM and ready by at least 6 AM.
A caterer named Mohan, who serves Mollywood film sets in Thodupuzha and Kochi, said that while shooting in the region, the situation became so critical that they had to rely on wood. He says they have been unable to reach suppliers for gas cylinders. He also mentions that the items in the usual spread will be reduced, with vegetarian options facing the chopping block. Mohan says that a Hindi film producer who is shooting in Thiruvananthapuram inquired about an LPG supplier, as did a Tamil film producer in Edakochi.
Tollywood begins usage of induction stoves
Tollywood director Dulal Dey, who is gearing up to shoot for Faand in Kasba, says the current LPG crunch has forced him to rework his production budget, which is now bound to increase. The first day of shooting for the Bengali film will reportedly have more than 300 cast and crew on set. Filmmaker duo Suchandra X Vaaniya and Chaandrodoy Pal also complained of being hit by the crisis just two days before the shoot of Poroborti Station Begunkodar.
A staff member of a catering service explained that two LPG cylinders were required to prepare lunch for around 150 people. And since the delivery time of cylinders seems to be widening, they were forced to switch to induction stoves for some dishes. They also note that most cooking still requires LPG. The report mentions that the shooting of Bengali TV serials has not been affected so far.
With Mollywood and Tollywood facing a crisis, it remains to be seen whether other film industries in India are also affected by the crunch.