Finally, there’s good news for all the cinema lovers who are waiting to enjoy their favourite movies on the big screen. If everything goes according to plan, multiplexes and single screens will be ready to play movies from the 1st of October. Recently, representatives from the film industry met Home and Information & Broadcasting Dept. Secretaries and requested for permissions to open the theatres all over the nation. Currently the Central Govt. is in the task of devising guidelines for exhibitors.
Unlock 4.0 gave permissions for train travel, metro rail and flights with some exceptions. Since the livelihoods of lakhs of people are dependent on movie theatres, industry bigwigs requested the Government to grant immediate permissions to open them. President of All India Film Federation, Firdausul Hasan, President of Telugu Film Producers Council, C Kalyan, President of South India Film Chamber of Commerce, Katraggada Prasad and Asian Multiplex Group’s Sunil Narang were among the representatives from the industry.
People are eagerly waiting to go and watch the movies of their favourite stars in theatres. Generally, Cinema is the only mode of entertainment for a large section of people in the country. People flock to theatres on weekends and festivals and they are missing it now due to the lockdown. OTT platforms became an alternative mode of entertainment but they cannot replace theatres as a whole. Even producers who released their films on OTT platforms are not entirely happy as theatre release can take their movies into people more effectively. This will benefit both the producer and theatre staff. As interests are piling up on the loans acquired from banks, producers are desperately waiting for the theatres to open.
Under normal circumstances, a theatre runs houseful for a week even if the movie is of a big star. After a week, the occupancy falls to 30 percent. Taking this into consideration, movie lovers are hoping that Government opens cinema halls as soon as possible.
