Mumbai: The third season of Bigg Boss Malayalam got suspended temporarily after Tamil Nadu authorities sealed the EVP Film City in Chennai where shooting was ongoing. The sealing of Bigg Boss house comes in the wake of six members attached to the show's technical crew testing positive for Coronavirus infection.
Shooting schedules of the third season of the reality show, which enjoys very high popularity in neighbouring Kerala, where show host Mohanlal is a superstar, had continued unabated for 95 consecutive days till the government action.
The reality show was well into the season when the Tamil Nadu government enforced a complete lockdown from 10 May and imposed a complete ban on film and television shootings. The sealing of Bigg Boss’ house came with only five days remaining for the climax of the reality show that had already aired 95 consecutive days of content.
A team led by Thiruvallur Revenue Divisional Officer Preethi Parkavi reached the Bigg Boss Malayalam set and sealed it for allegedly flouting Covid norms. After sealing the Bigg Boss house, authorities assessed and then imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on the show organizers.
Parkavi revealed that the organizers continued film shooting despite the decision by the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) of halting all shooting and related activity in Tamil Nadu. A case was registered against organizers of the show under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, an act that allows for blanket powers to government authorities in the wake of a national disaster (the COVID-19 pandemic in this case) for violation of government guidelines.
The show’s third season contestants including Manikuttan, Dimpal Bhal, Anoop Krishnan, Kidilam Firoz, Sai Vishnu, Rithu Manthra, Noby Marcos, and Ramzan Mohammed were shifted to a nearby hotel facility.
Although the six people who tested positive for the virus were not directly in contact with the contestants of the show, they are believed to have had direct interactions with other members of the production crew. All the six infected technicians have been quarantined since the sealing.
An official release from the channel airing the show stated that it would resume airing the episodes once the pandemic situation begins to improve (read the shooting ban is lifted).
