The
Hindi
film
industry
has
been
severely
impacted
by
the
Coronavirus
pandemic
and
lockdown
in
India.
While
some
professions
have
the
option
of
working
from
home,
actor
Shreyas
Talpade
points
out
that
actors
do
not.
So
Shreyas
decided
to
take
plays
to
audiences
through
the
web,
and
started
an
online
theatre
a
month
into
the
lockdown.
Speaking
to
Hindustan
Times,
Shreyas
said,
"The
idea
of
an
online
theater
came
when
we
were
almost
a
month
into
the
lockdown.
All
of
us
were
thinking
of
what
to
do
to
survive.
Actors
don't
have
an
option
of
work
from
home.
I
thought
this
could
be
an
opportunity
where
we
record
a
play
and
stream
it
online
by
charging
a
nominal
ticket
fee."
He
continued,
"The
theatre
crew
is
limited
to
15
or
20
people.
We
hire
a
theatre,
clean
it
and
follow
all
the
protocols,
hire
a
multi-camera
set-up
and
go
in.
We
shoot
with
the
actors
performing
and
do
an
online
and
offline
edit,
and
once
we
have
the
final
product
ready,
we
can
project
the
play
online
as
a
normal
show."
"The
idea
is
to
charge
a
nominal
price,
for
example,
Rs
300
for
a
family
as
we
can't
charge
on
per
person
basis.
I
feel
it's
quite
economical.
Also,
we
will
make
sure
that
a
password
is
sent
which
expires
once
the
show
is
over
which
will
ensure
that
there
is
no
piracy
or
downloads."
He
added
that
he
is
trying
to
get
producers
to
support
the
idea.
He
understands
that
the
returns
might
not
be
huge,
but
feels
it
is
better
to
earn
something
than
nothing.
He
said
that
the
money
collected
will
be
distributed
among
technicians
and
actors
who
will
be
able
to
earn
a
livelihood.