The closure of theatres seven months ago broke the spine of film industry all over the nation. Lockdown made life a struggle for workers in theatres and many of them went back to their villages and turned into coolies. The recent decision of Central Government to re-open theatres from October 15th has revived the hopes in the industry and exhibitor circles. The Centre has devised a stringent set of COVID guidelines to be followed by the exhibitors to run their theatres.
Even though the Central Government has given its nod in this issue, it all finally boils down to the discretion of the State Government whether to open the theatres or not. Many states like AP, UP, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Pondicherry, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi have given green signal to the exhibitors. States such as Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan denied their permission. Telangana and Assam are still holding their decision.
