Music videos kept TV stars busy in the lockdown months

By Natalia Ningthoujam

New Delhi, Aug 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) With lockdown paralysing shootings schedules, TV stars seemed more affected than their counterparts in films. However, a section of telly celebs have found a great avenue to stay occupied these past few months, and make some moolah in the process too, by working in music videos.

The advantage is music videos are short, so they can be wrapped up without hassle. Most such videos shot during lockdown were filmed remotely by the actors, because the medium lets them shoot from their homes, maintaining lockdown and social distancing norms. Importantly, music videos has kept our TV actors busy and in touch with their craft, and let them entertain fans despite no new TV shoots happening.

"Bigg Boss 13" housemates Paras Chhabra and Mahira Sharma have been among the busiest telly stars in the music videos circuit over these past months. Their latest appearance is in a number titled "Ring". The song reminded many of their time in the Bigg Boss house.

"You get good money when you do a music video and you get it quickly. Money is a big factor. Also, music videos are watched by a lot of people. It's short in length. It has a story and we get to wear different costumes too. People enjoy watching it more. So, I think doing music videos are better for now," Paras told IANS.

While shooting many TV shows have resumed shoot in Mumbai, Paras feels it's safer to be away from the city at this point, given the Covid situation. With music videos, he can shoot in Chandigarh.

"People including actors are getting corona in Mumbai. Also, in serials, you have to shoot for 12 hours every day. Songs, on the other hand, are shot in a day or two. So it's not hectic. Doing songs is easier," he said.

Mahira agrees: "I have always liked doing music videos. We can't do much because of coronavirus. There are TV show offers but I don't want to take the risk right now. It's all in Mumbai and shooting happens every day. I am just waiting for this pandemic to get over," said the actress, who is also in Chandigarh.

But the entertainment won't stop. "We will continue to entertain fans through different music videos. There will be more music videos (with Paras)," she promised.

In addition, she feels that music videos give her the opportunity to showcase different sides of her talent.

"Sometimes we show our fun side, we dance a little and then there's the sad part, too. Different things are shown in videos," she said.

Their former co-contestant on "Bigg Boss", Shefali Jariwala, has teamed up with singer Mika Singh on a remake of a hit song of the nineties.

"Mika and I have been friends for over a decade, we have always wanted to collaborate, but we were both busy. So it didn't work out. It's only during the lockdown that we got really slow on work and we were at home. We then decided to get together and plan the video that we wanted to do for a long time. Mika sang the song and we shot the video," Shefali told IANS.

Shooting during lockdown wasn't simple. "It was difficult, but we had a lot of time to plan, we shot the music video with minimal crew with safety guidelines," shared Shefali, best known for starring in the music video of 2002, "Kaanta laga".

"Naagin 3" Actress Heli Daruwala loves the music video space. "I love performing to songs, especially dance and romantic numbers. Of course, it gives a lot of exposure as well to actors and best way to be creatively engaged, especially in this time," she said.

Shooting for her music video, "Aameen 2.0", wasn't as easy as a regular shoot, though. "The crew was limited, and we had to constantly take precautions and work with the safety measures," she recalled.

Real-life couple Ravi Dubey and Sargun Mehta had the advantage of shooting a music video for Badshah and Payal Dev at home. The official video of the song, "Toxic", has garnered over 10 million views on YouTube. For the actor-couple it was a nice way to offer something new for their fans without venturing out.

Some TV stars have utilised the break from routine work to feature in music videos for a cause.

Hiten Tejwani, Zain Imam, Shakti Arora, Namit Khanna, Sara Khan, Shama Sikander and Vishal Singh starred in a video dedicated to frontline workers in the Covid-19 battle, including healthcare workers, government officials and police.

If the actors are content doing music videos, the fans are only asking for more.

(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n @ians.in)

Source: IANS