With lockdown paralyzing 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. 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 said.
"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. (IANS)