'Why are cinemas being singled out?'

Exhibitors were looking forward to the theatrical release of Christopher Nolan's Tenet on September 18 to bounce back into business. However, their hopes were dashed on Saturday as the government announced that cinemas will continue to remain shut till September 30 as part of the Unlock 4.0 guidelines.

Several exhibitors and distributors started the online petition #SupportMovieTheatres on Sunday, urging the government to reconsider the decision.

The nationwide theatre shutdown was imposed on March 14

Exhibitor Akshaye Rathi says the nationwide theatre shutdown that began on March 14 has left the sector bleeding, with the country reportedly losing 10 per cent of its screen count in the interim. "If salons, malls and restaurants are allowed to function, why are cinemas being singled out? We have all broken into our savings to continue paying our staff, but now, we will probably have to let go of people who have been with us for decades. It's not possible to continue paying salaries with no income," he laments, adding that theatre owners have to pay property taxes, rents and electricity bills despite the shutdown. He rues that the ongoing dialogues with the home ministry, and the information and broadcasting ministry, since June have yielded no result. "There has not been any financial support from the government or an attempt to waive off the taxes."

The theatre business is estimated to have lost close to Rs 2,000 crore in the last five months, with layoffs becoming a harsh reality. "The industry employs over five lakh people; additionally, it also supports vendors who supply snacks. With no solution in sight, one can expect job cuts that run into lakhs," adds Rathi.

Sooryavanshi is slated to release on Diwali

Amit Sharma, MD, Miraj Entertainment, hopes the government compensates for the one-month delay by allowing theatres to function at 50 per cent capacity when they re-open. "If we are allowed to open as part of Unlock 5 plan, there is no point restricting the audience capacity to 30 per cent. We will negotiate for a 50 to 60 per cent seating capacity." He points out that the dry spell has not been as hard on the film industry. "Only the multiplex operators are losing money; the content creators have recovered their costs by taking the digital route." While several films have sought a digital premiere, the makers of Sooryavanshi and '83 have deferred the films' release to Diwali and Christmas respectively to avail the advantage of a theatrical run.

'83 on Christmas

Mohan Umrotkar, CEO, Carnival Cinemas, states that theatres are likely to re-open only by mid-October. "We request the government to announce the date in advance so that we can decide [on the move line-up] with the content creators," he says.

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